Shropshire firefighters help Lancashire flood relief effort
Firefighters from Shropshire are at the scene of flood hit Croston, near Southport in Lancashire where crews have been pumping thousands of gallons of water away to protect the village.
They were close to the scene where the Chinook helicoper has been dropping 1 tonne sandbags to avert further flooding and fill a gap in flood defences on the River Douglas.
Four firefighters from Prees, two from Shrewsbury and two from Baschurch joined the efforts with the county's High Volume Pumping Unit which has worked non stop to pump 7,000 litres of water a minute to help relieve the flooding.
Two firefighters from Clun, three from Craven Arms and three from Prees will relieve them at midday today. All the firefighters from Shropshire are "on call" which means they have other careers as well. They joined crews from Hereford and Worcester, Lancashire and Cheshire.
Shrewsbury Station Manager Ian Leigh, who is co-ordinating efforts on the scene for the Shropshire fire crews, said: "We are continuing operations from yesterday supporting the other High Volume Pumping Units to support the breached dam operations in Croston to support the Environment Agency and Army.
"Our High Volume Pump is helping to protect the community hit by the floods. We have moved a huge amount of water and are helping to keep it at bay."
Earlier this month a Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service six strong boat crew was sent to Cumbria to help rescue people stranded in theor homes as a result of Storm Desmond. Their skills provided vital help.
