THE clean-up continued today after the region was hit by the worst storm in nearly a decade.

Torrential rain combined with gale force winds swept through Herefordshire and Worcestershire last night leaving a trail of destruction.

With up to two inches (5cm) of rain falling in two hours in some spots, babbling brooks turned into raging rivers and terrifed residents saw their garden and sheds swept away.

Motorists abandoned their cars and homes were swamped with streams of mud and water.

One man was rescued from a patio table after a brook turned into raging torrent in just minutes and a pet dog and rabbit was swept away in the flood.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service received more than 300 calls in six hours.

Spokesman Alec Mackie said: "Our resources were stretched. It's certainly the biggest volume of flood-related calls we have had in such a short space of time for nine years."

The storm entered the region at about 8pm south of Ross on Wye and headed north west towards Stourport-on-Severn, passing to the west of Worcester, and hitting village after village including Great Witley, Shrawley, Suckley and Astley.

Ambulance crews struggled through flood water to reach patients stranded in their homes.

Paramedic Andy Lightbody and emergency medical technician Rachel Rose from Kidderminster Ambulance Station were thwarted twice in their attempts to reach a man believed to be stranded in a house that may be in danger of collapse in Shrawley.

Mr Lightbody said: "We were en route to a call in Church Lane, Shrawley travelling along the A451 to Astley, but it was flooded and we diverted down a B road to gain access.

"Unfortunately, we then encountered a landslide blocking the lane and had to reverse back. When we got as far as Glazen Bridge the bridge itself was completely underwater, with one of the parapets broken off."

Luckily the man had been reached by Fire and Rescue Service, but the ambulance crew helped another man who had fled his flooded home through floodwater and needed hospital treatment for cuts to his feet.

Another crew reported the A44 between Worcester and Bromyard was barely passable over a four-mile section.

The Severn Area Rescue Association were called out to Dunley shortly before midnight where a woman in her 30s had got into difficulties when the same brook burst its banks, trapping her car in more than three feet of water.

Alan Stanley, chief executive of SARA, said: "Flood water was coming over the nearby bridge instead of under it. I have never seen anything like it."

Although Worcester escaped the worst of the storm, torrential rain caused flash flooding on several routes and brought down the ceiling at a city gym.

Life of Leisure, in Bromyard Road, was flooded with three inches of rain and is expected to be closed for at least the next few days.

Spokesman David Selman said: "I've been pictures of the gym and the damage looks horrific. We are waiting on assessors and a roofing company before we go any further."

At The Commandery in Sidbury, the cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream continued with their outdoor performance throughout the downpour.

Despite the conditions the vast majority of the audience - including the Mayor of Worcester Coun Stephen Inman - stayed seated to enjoy a thoroughly professional performance by Chris Jaeger's team.

Severn Valley Railway cut services after storms caused "unprecedented" damage to its infrastructure. Services will only run between Kidderminster to Bewdley.

The majority of the damage has occurred from Bridgnorth Outer Home Signal to Northwood Halt, which is north of Bewdley, where sections of the line have been subjected to landslips, with several sections of track left suspended in air.

Meanwhile 2,000 people across the two counties were left without power.

A spokesman for Central Networks said Ross on Wye was the worse hit area but there were small pockets of houses still without electricity throughout yesterday.

Herefordshire County Council said it received more than 100 calls from members of the public after the weather brought down trees.

A team of road sweepers were sent out from 6am yesterday to clear away the debris, with Bromyard worst hit.

A council spokeswoman said: "Trees around the county were felled, I think by the sheer weight of the water on the branches, and our team were well prepared to deal with it.

"Traffic lights in the town were also out of action during the morning, but by 10am they were working fine."

In some parts of Herefordshire up to 40mm of rain - a month's rainfall - fell in just an hour and 14mm of rainfall in just 45 minutes was recorded in Barbourne, Worcester.

Worcester News weatherman Paul Damari said the storms had moved up from the South West, their severity fuelled by humidity in the air around the two counties.

** On top of dealing with the flash floods on Tuesday night firefighters also rescued a man from a house fire in Lincoln Green, Ronkswood, Worcester, put out a fire in a farm building in Trimpley, north of Kidderminster and rescued a man who had jumped off the Victoria Bridge in Hereford into the River Wye.