One year on: The chaos

8:50am Saturday 19th July 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

Last year’s floods came on the last day of term for most schools and many families were setting off on their holidays - only to find most of the region’s roads were closed.

On top of this many people found themselves unable to get home from work.

Only four main routes were left out of Worcester as the rising waters made roads impassable. Vehicles were gridlocked across the M5 and M50, leaving around 10,000 motorists stranded overnight.

Cars had to be rescued by tractors and train services in Worcester stopped altogether when a landslide blocked a tunnel near Shrub Hill station.

Thousands of holidaymakers and commuters were also forced to seek haven at sports centres, schools, pubs and community halls.

Melanie Clark, operations manager with the Highways Agency, was on duty that night.

“We were aware that we were going to have a lot of rain but I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted the scale of the flooding and the impact it would have on the moroways,” she said.

The Highways Agency quickly put measures in to place to try and get motorists off the motorways, but for many, it was a long night spent inside their vehicle.

Also stuck in the gridlock were the people needed to put up Worcester’s temporary flood barriers.

The Environment Agency came under fierce criticism for failing to stop severe flooding on Worcester’s Hylton Road.

Now it is planning a permanent earth bund along Hylton Road.

Resident Andy Churchill said he hoped the measures would prevent a repeat of last year’s disaster.

His home was one of many devastated by the floods.

“Even now, a year later it is very raw,” he said. “Each time it rains you feel very on edge.”

Mr Churchill has taken every measure possible to protect his Hylton Road home, raising the floors, electrics and plumbing, and purchasing a door barrier and pumps.

“It took us a good six months before we got the house back straight,” he said. “I just hope we never have to go through it again. Hopefully this permanent barrier will get approval on Monday and will then protect us.”

• In pictures - June 2007 floods
• In pictures - July 2007 floods