HEAVY rain caused travel disruption across Worcestershire with roads closed including the motorway, leaving some vehicles 'stranded'.
Worcestershire was battered by heavy rain on Thursday evening into Friday morning, leading to road closures and the closure of the M5 further south as drivers faced long delays.
The county was subject to a Met Office yellow weather warning (downgraded from an amber) overnight which caused widespread disruption, including flash flooding.
Flood warnings were in place on Friday for the River Avon at Strensham and Bredon, at Wyre Piddle, at Evesham and at Birlingham and Eckington with levels still climbing throughout the day.
The Environment Agency predicted 'flooding to affect properties and roads in the Waterside Road area as well as the car park on the meadow' in Evesham with a predicted peak of 3.1 to 3.6m tonight (Friday).
A number of roads were closed on Friday including Brook Lane in Cropthorne, near Evesham, Mill Bank in Fladbury and Ford Lane near Droitwich and bridges in Hinton on the Green.
Drivers on the M5 faced significant disruption and long delays when the motorway was closed in both directions because of flooding at junctions 14 and 15.
The M5 in Gloucestershire was closed northbound between J16 and J14 and southbound between J14 and J15 due to flooding.
The closure affected drivers heading south from Worcestershire or returning north to the county during Friday morning rush hour. Drivers faced delays of around 45 minutes.
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Initially the M5 was closed in both directions due to flooding following heavy rainfall in the area resulting in water run off from adjacent fields.
However, the southbound carriageway re-opened at approximately 9am on Friday.
A spokesperson for National Highways said on Friday morning: "The northbound carriageway remained closed to allow clear up work and recovery of stranded vehicles to take place."
Avon and Somerset Fire and Rescue, the Environment Agency, Avon and Somerset Police left scene following a multi agency response, with National Highways Traffic Officers remaining at scene.
A Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crew from Worcester Fire Station was called at 7.12pm on Thursday to flooding of internal electrics at a property in Trinity Street, Worcester.
A spokesperson for the fire service said: "Water was believed to be coming in from guttering and electrics were isolated with advice given. There were no casualties and no other emergency services were required."
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