IT was business as usual in Upton this week, despite the River Severn breaking its banks and flooding fields around the town.

The Environment Agency closed the flood gates at the town's New Street on Friday as the water level rose, but by Tuesday, the river had retreated to its normal level again.

Resident Jackie Surtees reported that the recycling centre on the Hanley Road car park had to be closed on Saturday afternoon when the rising water level threatened it, but it re-opened the following day.

"This was a standard winter flood, nothing out of the ordinary," she said. "It didn't come close to the main road across the river, and for Upton it was business as usual. It was nothing like what's been happening in Cumbria, which has been awful."

Dave Throup of the Environment Agency said that the river flow measured at Saxons Lode, just outside Upton, peaked on Saturday.

However, Worcestershire flood campaigner Mary Dhonau has warned Cumbria-style flooding could happen here and urged people to be resilient.

She said that defences along the Severn could only reduce the risk of flooding but could not stop it completely.

"What I've always said, and I say this at every presentation I give around the country, is that water could come over the top of flood defences one day which is what happened in Cumbria," she said.

"Cumbria is an example of what could happen here. I feel everyone should be prepared for the fact flood defences just reduce the risk of flooding but it doesn't take it away.

"People often roll their eyes at me and think I am just being a bit alarmist but actually what happened over the weekend has the potential of happening here. We should all be aware of that."

Ms Dhonau suggested people fitted their homes with water pumps and tiled floors, and put important documents and items of sentimental value into watertight plastic bags and placed them upstairs.

"When people are repairing their homes they want to think about how to make them more resilient to floods. One man I met in Gloucestershire had three pumps and also had ceramic tiles up the sides of the walls and stone floors - it still looked lovely but if and when it flooded they were protected.

"He even had a double-decker hen house so they could go upstairs and had put the shed and freezer on breeze blocks. People just need to make their homes flood resilient."

For more advice, log on to marydhonau.co.uk.