BLACKOUT

SHOPS in Worcester's High Street were forced to shut when a power cut hit 50,000 properties.

The blackout came as storms lashed Worcestershire and Herefordshire, putting emergency services on high alert, closing roads and forcing people to abandon their cars.

Many people once again found their homes under water in what has been described as the most intense rainfall in 50 years.

The electrical fault, which affected Central Networks customers across Worcestershire and Herefordshire, happened just before 11am.

As a result a number of city centre stores - including Barclays bank, Woolworths,O2, Phones For You and Ernest Jones - had to close their doors to customers for just under three hours.

Nick Major, sales assistant from O2, said it was quite chaotic. "The power went out just as I was going to make a cup of tea. We were closed from about 11am to 2pm. People were just wandering around the High Street but most of the shops elsewhere were up and running."

A spokesman from Central Networks said it was not yet known what caused the fault, but said it was storm-related.

"We're doing a line inspection, where we literally walk the line to find the fault," he said. "We are looking particularly between Hereford and Ross-on-Wye."

Within eight minutes of the fault occurring, power was restored to 14,400 Worcester homes and businesses, including the Worcester News.

By 11.11am, 34,500 properties in Herefordshire were also reconnected.

The torrential rain meant Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service was on alert. The service spent most of the day rescuing vehicles from flooded roads, securing flood-damaged buildings and going to the aid of crews in north Gloucestershire.

Spokesman Alec Mackie said they were inundated with calls.

"We were in the centre of Hereford where the flat roof of a shop collapsed under the weight of the rain and we spent about half an hour trying to find a man whose car was trapped in flood water on the north Herefordshire/Worcestershire border," he said.

"He had no clue where he was and we were talking to him on his mobile," said Mr Mackie. "We thought we'd tracked him down to Great Witley but then got a call back and it turned out he was on the outskirts of a village near Bromyard."

A number of roads in the two counties were impassable and the village of Eardiston, near Tenbury Wells, was cut off.

Worcester News reporter Sally Jones arrived home to chaos. "I can't get anywhere near my house," said Miss Jones, of Newnham Bridge, near Tenbury Wells. The road is about 3ft under water. I don't want to leave my car in case it gets swept away."

Miss Jones said the A443 was closed, with cars being abandoned on the roadside because of floods from the river Teme.

"There are tractors pulling the cars out of the water. We've lived here for more than 10 years and it's never been flooded."

The Environment Agency issued a Flood Watch warning on the river Severn in Worcestershire last night.

Worcester News weatherman Paul Damari said it was the most intense rainfall he had seen in 50 years.

On Sunday night, 28.5mm of rain - just over one inch - fell in Worcester with some parts of west Worcestershire getting more than 40mm (1.7inches).

"In the past week or so we've had 113.9mm (4.4 inches) - that's almost double June's average rainfall," he said.

Although the weather in Worcestershire was expected to be drier today, up to four inches was being predicted in some parts of Wales, which could affect the county.