Gloucestershire roads suffer 'atrocious' conditions

Heavy rain led to "atrocious" conditions on roads and caused concern for some residents in Gloucestershire.

Up to 30mm of rain fell overnight, prompting schools to close.

Lobleys Drive and the A4173 Stroud Road in Gloucester were both closed and police said cars were becoming stuck near Whaddon and Brookthorpe.

BBC weatherman Ian Fergusson warned of strong winds, up to 70mph in some areas, and further rain on Thursday, leading to "dangerous conditions".

An Environment Agency spokesman said the conditions were "atrocious" and more rain was expected.

Brooks breached

One resident of Haresfield, near Gloucester, described an "enormous flooding problem" in the village and said it was "worse than the flooding in 2007".

Charlie Kawczynski said the brook near her home in Gloucester had not been this high since 2007

Ursula Jeakins said sandbags were urgently needed to offer some protection to houses as the nearby brook had overflowed, drains were blocked and water was running down from Haresfield Beacon.

A resident of Armscroft Gardens in Gloucester told the BBC that the nearby brook had breached its banks for the first time since 2007.

Charlie Kawczynski said her home had flooded twice five years ago and the levels had not been this high in the brook since then.

She said: "My stomach is in knots, thinking 'here we go again, are we going to have to move out, do we have to find somewhere else to live for six months' and on it goes."

In Leonard Stanley, BBC Radio Gloucestershire reporter Andy Barnard said a church had been saved from flooding by the efforts of four people working to divert the water.

He said: "They have managed to avoid it going into the church by putting trestle tables, rocks and a few boards out."

Trestle tables were used to divert floodwater away from a church

Elsewhere, Gloucestershire County Council reported that 13 schools were closed because of localised flooding.

Train services between Bristol Temple Meads and Gloucester, and between the county and Wales, had been affected.

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service said it responded to some 38 flooding calls, carried out 10 rescues, and was preparing for the possibility of further rain on Thursday.

Flood warnings

The Environment Agency issued flood warnings for the River Chelt in Charlton Kings, and the River Frome at Brimscombe and Thrupp, as well as at Fromebridge and Eastington.

At one point six flood alerts were also in place across the county, including on rivers in North Gloucestershire and the Forest of Dean. The rivers of Frome and Cam were also affected.

Earlier, Dave Throup, from the agency, said: "It has been a story of surface water flooding, with some pretty atrocious conditions on the roads, but the rivers are now beginning to respond.

"The problem is because there is very little evaporation over the winter - temperatures are lower and humidity is higher - it is very unlikely to get better until the spring.

"The soil is pretty likely to stay saturated, so whenever we do get periods of heavy rain it is going to run off very quickly, straight into the rivers, and we are likely to get bouts of flooding like we are seeing now."

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service said it carried out 10 rescues