ALL eyes were expected to be on the river Severn today after the Environment Agency warned it would be reaching its peak in Worcester.

The river, which is on flood warning in the city, is expected to reach a height of 4.6 to 4.85 metres - the usual winter level at Diglis is 0.9 metres.

A spokesman for the agency said "We are constantly monitoring the situation. For Worcester it is still rising and it is expected to reach its peak on Wednesday morning.

"In Bewdley, who are on severe flood warning it is expected to be on Tuesday evening. The barriers are holding well at the moment."

Downstream in Upton-upon-Severn the water is expected to peak at 5.2 metres this evening.

Staff and customers at Worcester Racecourse on Pitchcroft are on standby to evacuate should the water rise too high.

Hospitality manager Jenny Cheshire said a three-day conference was booked, but may need to be moved.

"We will evacuate once we can see it coming over the road," she said. "We are monitoring the situation once every half hour and keeping in contact with the Environment Agency."

Worcester News weatherman Paul Damari said the city could look forward to some drier weather over the next few days.

"If we do get any rain it is expected to be in short intervals," he said. "But mostly it will be cloudy, dry, breezy and mild for the next five to seven days. There is not going to be any more heavy rain coming down from Wales or falling in this area."

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service's chief fire officer Paul Hayden said: "We have systems in place to respond to emergency incidents during spate conditions. If needed, we can also set up a national centre for flood response coordination which worked particularly well last summer. We hope that we don't have to get to that point over the next few days but if we do I would ask people not to put themselves in a dangerous situation."

He warned people not to drive through floodwater - 2ft (60cm) of flowing water is enough to sweep away a car, not to walk in floodwater that is above knee level and not to allow children to play in flood water, which could be contaminated.

For more details log on to www.environment-agency.gov.uk