THE Environment Agency has defended its decision not to erect the flood barriers on Hylton Road in Worcester saying it just 'couldn't predict' what was going to happen.

The river Severn burst its banks overnight, closing off the road to all traffic.

It is not thought that any homes or businesses have been affected.

A spokesman said: "This particular flood event has been unusual in its form.

"When the river Severn looks like it's going to flood, usually it's because we have huge amounts of rain falling over the Welsh mountains and we can monitor this.

"This time unexpected heavy rain in isolated places has caused run off at various points.

"The situation on the river Teme has been totally unprecedented - it is at its highest for 47 years.

"This has caused the water to back-up extremely quickly at spots we've never monitored.

"We have been monitoring the water levels on teh Severn at Hylton Road but we just couldn't predict what was going to happen.

"However, we believe this to be a localised effect and we are continuing to monitor the situation.

"The waters are now receding."