THE gridlock which caused Worcester to grind to a halt yesterday afternoon and evening - and lead to all manner of problems for commuters trying to reach work today - has created fury in many quarters.

Take last night's city environmental health committee. An angry Councillor Roger Berry branded the decision to close Worcester Bridge at 3.30pm yesterday as unacceptable.

And he asked one very pertinent question. Why wasn't this crucial link between the east and west side of the city re-opened when it was realised that the Severn had not risen by as much as anticipated?

We'll leave readers to make their own judgment of the answer he received from David Wareing, the council's chief executive.

Mr Wareing explained how he and other officers realised by 6pm that the Environment Agency's predictions about the level of the river had been mistaken. By that point, there was already gridlock.

How, he in turn asked, could drivers already queueing have been told that New Road had been re-opened?

He is quite clear. The right decision was taken, because the Environment Agency's warnings could not be ignored.

And it's true that extraordinary times call for extraordinary decisions to be made - and the result can be extraordinary disruption to our everyday lives.

What we can all bring to such a trying time is a great deal of patience.

As the flooding crisis enters its 10th day, it's understandable if our tolerance is in increasingly short supply. We want our lives to return to normal as quickly as possible.

But we should keep in the backs of our minds that, in circumstances such as these, the authorities are trying to do their best to keep the county moving.

Equally, the powers-that-be must realise that the demands of the public have to be met.