A BID to beat the floods on the "overlooked" Kidderminster side of the River Severn at Bewdley has run into troubled waters.

Bosses at the Environment Agency said it would be "technically difficult" to test temporary high-tech flood defences at Wribbenhall.

Using the site to try out the movable barriers would require "significant civil engineering work" said EA spokeswoman Lyn Fraley.

She said: "It is still being considered but people should be aware that there are technical difficulties."

The news comes as a blow to flood campaigners who claim Wribbenhall is often overlooked in favour of the serious problems facing the Bewdley side of the Severn, highlighted by this week's work at Severnside South.

Bewdley Residents Flood Committee chairman Peter Barnett said he was "disappointed" with the news as the research could have helped to sort out a major flood hotspot, on Beales Corner, approaching Bewdley bridge.

He said: "When Beales Corner floods it creates a knock-on effect through the town. Cars cannot get through to the bridge into Bewdley and many of the houses flood as a result."

The Environment Agency is due to spend £600,000 on the temporary flood barriers which it will test at three sites along the Severn out of a possible 35.

The defences being considered by the agency include the laying of a massive tubular structure filled with water and the use of an easy-to-erect pallet barrier.