THE last signs of the flooding were finally cleared away today as Environment Agency workers removed about 10 tonnes of debris which had collected at Worcester bridge.

Teams in two boats armed with chainsaws were out from 10.30am this morning and spent hours cutting up the larger pieces of wood and removing the collected material so the river could flow freely.

The organisation’s manager for Worcestershire Dave Throup – who became something of a local hero during the flooding for his tireless work – said his team were clearing the debris which could not be removed during the initial clearance work two weeks ago.

“There were some bits they couldn’t shift like the large pieces of tree which had twisted inside the bridge,” he said. That’s what we’re removing today.

“We hope we will be able to remove some of the bits from the river but a lot of it will just drift down on its merry way.

“We need to do it now before river levels rise again or birds start nesting in it.

“We are getting towards the end of the whole thing now.”

As well as large logs and pieces of wood, the team also removed a gas canister, a piece of railing from Worcester Racecourse and bag of fertiliser.

About 500 tonnes of debris collected at the bridge during the recent flooding but the majority of it was removed by highways officers from Worcestershire County Council two weeks ago.