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School's roof collapses after heavy rain damage

BBC A school with piece of broken ceiling on the floor. There is a mop and bucket on the right hand side with some wet blue towels and a wet floor signBBC
The heavy rain caused a school's ceiling to collapse

A primary school in Gloucestershire has been forced to close after its roof collapsed from a large volume of heavy rain.

Deerhurst and Apperley Primary School near Tewkesbury was one of a number of schools, sports facilities and roads that had to close because of Monday's flood damage.

An amber weather warning was issued by the Met Office on Monday, with parts of England and Wales affected by flash flooding.

There were also problems in Clevedon, near Bristol, where access to some shops was blocked because of large puddles and in Wiltshire.

PA Media Cars drive through surface water in Willersey village, Gloucestershire. There is a large splash of water that reaches the car's roof. PA Media
Parts of Gloucestershire experienced heavy rain and "extreme" flooding on Monday

The heavy rain from a leaking roof at Deerhurst and Apperley school collapsed a ceiling when the school was empty over the weekend.

But headteacher Jane Nevue said she is optimistic that the school will open on Wednesday, as the builders have repaired the roof so quickly.

"On Friday, it was horrendous," she said.

"And then yesterday evening, some of my colleagues and I were stood watching the ceiling because we could see huge circles of water forming."

Broken pieces of tile on a wooden floor in a school
School staff have spent Monday clearing up the mess

Danny Taylor, a manager at Gloucestershire Highways, said drier weather forecast for the next few days will be crucial.

"We're not expecting as heavy rain as what we've had over the weekend," said Mr Taylor.

"It's the heavy rain that's really caused the problems. It's raised up the tributaries in Gloucester and Cheltenham and the drainage in the road has had nowhere to go."

Several roads remain closed in the county due to standing water and drivers are being reminded not to ignore road closure signs.

Gloucestershire Highways said they are there to keep the public and crews on site safe.

Road closures in Gloucestershire

The following roads remain closed:

  • Old Birdlip Hill Witcombe
  • Frogfurlong Lane, Innsworth
  • Wainlode Lane
  • Cowley Lane - Green Dragon/ Cowley Manor
  • Main St- Coln, St Aldwyns
  • Main Road and Back Lane- Down, Ampney
  • Main St Bledington
  • Ell Brook Road
  • Newent Ryton Road
  • Dymock
PA A silver car drives through a flooded road in Willersey village, Gloucestershire. PA
Amber weather warnings and two red flood warnings were in place on Monday

Five schools in the county were closed on Monday.

Hatherley Infant School in Cheltenham, the Milestone School in Gloucestershire and Deerhust and Apperley Primary School remain closed.

Martin Hughes, the Chief Executive of the Milestone School, said they hope to reopen parts of the school on Wednesday.

"The whole staff team and our contractors have been working tirelessly to get us up and running as soon as possible," Mr Hughes told the BBC.

"Over the weekend the school suffered a significant amount of rain damage, so at the moment we're deep cleaning the whole school [and] making it safe where needed."

An online fundraising page has been set up to help a Gymnastics Club in Gloucester, which also flooded.

The rain came through the roof at Checkers, ruining much of their equipment.

"We had two squads in, just training as normal and then it started coming in from the sides and it was swarming everywhere," said tumbling coach Lucy Brown.

Andrew Davis stands in front of floodwater on his farm. He has short blonde hair and is wearing a dark green jacket.
The rainfall has caused the River Yeo to burst its banks

The recent rainfall has caused chaos around parts of the West of England.

It has caused the River Yeo in Cheddar, Somerset, to burst its banks onto farmland.

Andrew Davis said there is nowhere for his sheep or horses to go after his stables flooded in Cheddar.

Brinkworth Dairy in Wiltshire has also been impacted.

A third of the farm has been flooded, which means the grazing land is now polluted by brook water and cannot be used for a while.

Chad Cryer, Brinkworth Dairy An aerial shot of a flooded dairy farmChad Cryer, Brinkworth Dairy
A third of Brinkworth dairy farm has flooded

Large puddles formed in parts in Clevedon, North Somerset, meaning customers could not access buildings.

Business owners have complained they have lost custom and had to throw away damaged stock.

They want North Somerset Council to urgently mend the drains and give them compensation.

Floodwater that has pooled outside of a shop on a highstreet
Businesses on the Triangle in Clevedon say they have had to turn customers away

Elizabeth Jack, the owner of the Signature Salon on the Triangle said she is frustrated by the lack of support.

"I'm angry because no one's helping us," she said.

"It's already difficult to keep your business going in this current climate and now we've got this on top of it."

North Somerset Council said it is aware of flooding and is working to resolve the issue.

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