Heavy rain causes problems across Shropshire

Commuters are also facing problems on the county’s roads and facing disruptions on trains running between Shrewsbury and Wrexham Central. Services are currently suspended due to flooding on the line at Gobowen.

Early this morning Shropshire Fire and Rescue crews were called to a car stranded in flood water on the Newport Road in Albrighton. The occupants of the vehicle had managed to get out of the car before the arrival of the Fire Service at around 1.05am.

Two people also had to be led to safety when the car they were travelling in became stuck in flood water on the A442 Quatt to Alverley road.

This morning the West Midlands Ambulance Service made an urgent plea for people to stop putting their lives, and those of the emergency services, at risk during the current flooding. It follows a busy night for the ambulance service which has had to deal with a number of flood related incidents overnight. In particular, the Service is concerned by the number of people who have failed to take suitable precautions when they have come across flood hit roads

WMAS General Manager, Nathan Hudson said: “No-one can have missed the heavy rain and strong winds that battered the region overnight. However, despite this, we were called out to several incidents where cars have tried to pass through flooded roads, fords, and small rivers and got stuck.

“The net effect is that the occupants have become trapped in their vehicles and the emergency services have had to risk difficult and often dangerous conditions in the middle of the night to come and rescue them.

“It is quite simple; driving through flood water is inherently dangerous. When you start off you simply have no idea how deep it will be, whether there will be hidden obstacles such as raised man hole covers that could damage your car. Flood water can also be very fast moving and we have seen incidences where the levels of water rise very quickly, which can catch out even the most experienced drivers.

“People who attempt to pass through flooded roads are not only putting their own lives at risk, but also the lives of the emergency services staff who have to rescue them. A little bit of common sense from the public will ensure that no one’s life is put in any unnecessary danger.

“Perhaps surprisingly, we have had to deal with a remarkable number of stuck 4x4s. Just because your vehicle has four wheel drive, does not make it amphibious. They too can become stuck in deep flood water.

“We would urge people to not try and get across flood water and instead take a short detour, rather than become trapped in their cars and have to be rescued.”

Current Shropshire flood alerts include:
- River Severn in Shropshire
- Severn Vyrnwy Confluence
- River Teme, River Onny and River Corve & their tributaries upstream of Ludlow
- River Teme and its tributaries downstream of Ludlow
- Rea Brook

Eddy Carroll, Met Office Chief Forecaster, said: "The current very unsettled run of weather is set to continue with further spells of wet and windy weather expected across the country over the next few days.

"Further rain moving in from the west on Sunday continues the risk for further flooding and travel disruption. We urge everyone to keep up to date with forecasts and warnings and be prepared for what the weather will bring."

John Curtin, Head of Incident Management at the Environment Agency, said: "We would urge people to continue to be prepared for flooding, sign up for Environment Agency flood warnings, keep up to date with the latest situation, and stay away from dangerous flood water.

"Our teams have been out around the clock over the last few days to minimise the risks and prepare for flooding and we are continuing to deploy teams across the country to keep communities safe."

Looking a little further ahead, the weather is expected to become drier and colder in most areas by the middle of next week, however overnight frost may then bring the risk of some icy roads after the recent rain.