River Severn: 'It's horrible' say those back at flooded homes

Residents in flood-hit towns have shared gloomy forecasts for their properties, with one expecting to completely re-plaster and once more strip out her kitchen.

Earlier this week, several areas of Worcestershire and Shropshire were again blighted by a swollen River Severn following rain in consecutive storms.

Susan Lucas, from Shropshire town Bridgnorth, has visited her property to inspect the latest damage.

"It's horrible," she said.

She has suffered flooding three times since 2019, explaining last time it was "four months before I came home".

She told the BBC: "It's impossible to live in (because) everywhere's contaminated.

"After the last session, cracks appeared in the plaster upstairs, because the dryers dried everything out to such a degree. The kitchen will be ripped out again, I've no doubt.

"The chances are again the plaster will have to be taken off all the walls."

Elsewhere in Shropshire, there was flooding this week in Shrewsbury and Ironbridge, with a danger-to-life warning issued for the latter where there were multiple evacuations.

The severe floods alert was also issued in Bewdley, Worcestershire, where there too were evacuations as temporary defences were breached once more. Parts of Worcester were also left under water.

The severe warnings and major incident status for Ironbridge and Bewdley have been stood down, although 27 lesser alerts were still in place along the Severn on Friday morning.

River levels were still high, the Environment Agency (EA) said, adding care was needed around the edges of rivers "which remain swollen" and were "flowing fast".

After similar scenes in recent years, community chiefs in Shropshire have described the situation as "the new normal" and an "annual cycle of misery".

Shropshire Council revealed that "amazingly quick-thinking CCTV operators" in Shrewsbury "prevented tragedy" this week, after a pedestrian was spotted stumbling through water late at night. The alarm was raised and the fire service carried the person to safety, the authority said.

Another Bridgnorth resident impacted by flooding, Sally Hebberd, said: "We know we're not gonna get millions spent on flood defence systems like the other towns, but could we have a bund or something of that nature built around [a] terrace of six houses?"

Bridgnorth Rugby Club, which has been under several feet of water since Monday, said it would be applying for grants again.

Club chair Karen Sawbridge estimated lost revenue and costs in its last flood came to between £50,000 and £60,000.

The EA said none of the schemes it had considered for Bridgnorth were technically, environmentally or economically viable.

It said instead it was working with residents to make adjustments to their properties to reduce the impact of flooding.

Plans for permanent flood defences at Beales Corner in Bewdley - where temporary barriers were breached on Tuesday - are under way, the EA says.

Heather Shepherd, from the National Flood Forum, is calling for more help for communities without defences, plus a more proactive approach to dealing with flooding.

Ms Shepherd, whose Shrewsbury home has flooded six times in 20 years, with four of those events coming in the last three years, said flooding episodes were increasing.

Bewdley, Ironbridge and Bridgnorth are less urbanised than some other areas in their counties, and Ms Shepherd explained places with fewer residents found it harder to get a business case together for the EA to pitch to the government for funding.

"They're kind of stuck really," she said. "There's nothing more really that can be done, other than what these communities can do for themselves.

"The bigger picture is pretty bleak for them, so that really does need to be relooked at to enable more communities to get the help that they need."

One-off grants of £5,000 were available from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to make a home flood-resilient or resistant, but Ms Shepherd said Defra decided when to issue them, with the measure not necessarily proving enough.

Authorities, Ms Shepherd added, needed to think "bigger and bolder" about the flooding issue.

The 27 flood warnings in place on Friday include 16 in Worcestershire, with two of those applying to Bewdley and four to the Upton-upon-Severn area.

Six warnings for Shropshire include one at the Wharfage in Ironbridge, where the earlier severe flood warning had applied.

Barriers were being brought down in Ironbridge on Friday, Telford & Wrekin Council said, with most roads and car parks reopened, bus services resuming and businesses open to customers.

The EA said its community officers were in Shrewsbury on Wednesday and Worcestershire on Thursday collecting data and updating the public on the latest situation.

West Mercia Police said it would continue to "engage and offer support to those who have been affected".

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