Bewdley man 'fuming' over failure to erect town's flood defences

A man who had to leave his home, carrying his dog through floodwater, is "fuming" the Environment Agency failed to put up flood defences in time.

Jordan Bishop, from Bewdley in Worcestershire, and other residents were advised to pack a bag and leave on Friday, as the River Severn rose 2m (6.6ft) in 12 hours.

He said everyone in the town knew it was going to flood.

But the agency (EA) said heavy rain had not been forecast for the area.

Mr Bishop said he got a knock at the door and was given between 20 or 30 minutes to evacuate his home as the waters rose.

He said: "I don't understand how they can spend so much money on all of this equipment and then not utilise it in time."

Mr Bishop also said people in the town had been expecting the flooding, adding: "If we could see it then I can't see why they couldn't."

However, the EA's West Midlands area director, Clare Dinnis, said agency staff had tried to put the barriers up at short notice.

However, once it became clear the Severn was rising faster than expected, she said the team had to abandon their work because it became unsafe for them to continue.

The town had seen "really intense rainfall", Ms Dinnis continued, and as a result "the river responded in a way that we hadn't seen before."

She explained that because it was disruptive to put up the temporary barriers in the town, they were careful to only put them up when it was certain they were needed.

"They were needed sooner than we anticipated," she accepted.

People in Tenbury have also been frustrated at the lack of flood defences.

The town is still waiting to get some, with talks involving the EA and local authorities that are ongoing.

On Saturday, Tenbury Bridge, Teme Street and Market Street were closed and parts of the town centre under water, because of the rising levels on the Teme.

Ms Dinnis said it had been difficult to agree on a scheme which would work for the town, but hoped to have plans drawn up in early 2024.

Steve Higgins, from Nice Things on Teme Street, said it had been a "close scare", but that water had not entered the shop.

Mr Higgins said the water rose really quickly on Friday and appeared to peak at around 04:00 BST, when it was "lapping up against the pavement" close to the shop.

It was badly affected by flooding in 2020 and as a result he and his wife made a number of changes, to make it less vulnerable, including moving up all electrical fittings.

Speaking about the proposed flood defences, Mr Higgins said: "They've been talking about it for years" without any sign of progress.

Car parks at Pitchcroft, Croft Road, Cattlemarket, Newport Street and Tybridge Street in Worcester were closed because of flooding, but Worcester City Council said the St Martin's Gate multi-storey car park would remain open and shops were open for business.

Diglis Bridge and Hylton Road were closed.

Some other roads have remained open, despite the flooding, including the A449 in Worcestershire.

Worcestershire Council Council said it was keeping the road open at the moment and believed the River Teme was close to peaking.

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