BEWDLEY's civic leaders, who saw streets under water twice before Christ-mas, have given the thumbs down to a barrier they say would cause "more disruption than half a century of flooding".

Bewdley Town Council, whose members include one of the worst affected flood victims, have dubbed the idea of a demountable steel wall along Severnside North as a recipe for misery.

It was responding to an invitation from the Environment Agency to state its views on the options the agency is considering to protect property.

Engineers have spent more than a month excavating the quay at Severnside North investigating the feasibility of a steel barrier and defence wall under the quay.

But not one councillor spoke in favour of the scheme at a meeting on Monday. They agreed to write to the agency to suggest "minor" flood defence schemes minimising damage in individual homes.

Hostility to the idea of a wall was first signalled in 1995. But new ideas have been developed including a non-permanent wall that the Environment Agency calculates should be 2.1 metres higher than the level of the quayside.

The agency has stated its preferred option is the demountable defence combined with a permanent embankment.

But Councillor Frank Palmer said: "The amount of disruption that would result from putting up this barrier would be as much as the floods have caused in the last 50 years.

"The months of preparation would make life a misery for people in Bewdley. We have to accept the river will be affected by rainfall and will flood. Bewdley has put up with this before."

Councillor Stephen Groome believed the barriers would be "ugly, disruptive and dangerous" holding back huge amounts of water only a few feet away from people's homes.

And Councillor Louise Edginton, who is still repairing damage caused to her home on Severnside North in November and December, was against a barrier that she feared might push flooding to Beales Corner.

She was also concerned about living next to an "eyesore" and in constant fear of a sudden surge of water breaking through.