Warwickshire floods: Three swept away in car escape injury

The ambulance service said a farmer had stopped the car

Three elderly people had "a lucky escape" after being rescued from their car when it was swept down a swollen river in Warwickshire.

It happened just off the A435 in Coughton Field Lane, near Alcester, at 11:30 GMT on Friday.

The car was carried for more than 450m from a ford before a farmer managed to stop it.

The county's fire service said it had received more than 40 calls from people stuck in flood water.

A spokesperson from Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service urged motorists not to drive through flood water.

The two women and a man who had become trapped were treated for shock and hypothermia, the ambulance service said.

'Waiting game'

The Environment Agency (EA) said 10 warnings for the county remained in place on Friday including parts of the River Avon and River Blythe.

Roy Stoke, from the EA, said: "In the last couple of days the water has filled all the flood plains and the river basins are full so there is nowhere for the rain coming on Saturday to go."

The Met Office forecasted that many areas were likely to experience a period of very windy, wet weather with up to 30mm of rain predicted over the weekend.

In Stratford-upon-Avon, the owners of a caravan park said they were having to play "a bit of a waiting game" as the flooding continued.

Nick Allen, from the Riverside Caravan Park, said river levels rose by about 45cm (1ft 6in) on Thursday when the site was evacuated and they were now waiting for the water to recede.

Stratford-upon-Avon Rowing Club has been closed for Friday and Saturday

On Friday afternoon parts of the park were up to 1.4m (4ft 7in) in water and the caravans were floating, he said.

Mr Allen said all caravans had been equipped with specially designed floats since 2007, when up to 300 caravans were badly damaged by floods.

"It's not as bad as in previous years, our office is still dry," he said.

"It did catch us by surprise though, we were not ready for it."

A message on the Stratford-upon-Avon Rowing Club website said it was closed on Friday and Saturday.

Jason Adams, from the Arden Hotel in the town, said it had been pumping out "a couple of inches" of water.

"Our garden team got about 100 sandbags yesterday afternoon and put them across the front of the doors, so we're fully watertight," he added.

Racecourse flooded

The racecourse in Stratford-upon-Avon was also flooded.

Assistant managing director Ilona Barnet said: "Whilst the water is in all the buildings, we are hoping that we will be able to get the pressure washers out and wash it down, dry it out and carry on."

Wally Redford, who chairs the parish council in Eathorpe, near Leamington Spa, said the water level was falling, and he believed it was not as bad as the 1998 and 2007 floods.

Leamington Hastings Church of England Infant School and Studley High School were also closed by flooding, according to Warwickshire County Council.

The Environment Agency said rivers remained "reasonably high" after heavy ran on Wednesday and Thursday.