FLOOD barriers went up in Upton-upon-Severn yesterday with the warning that river levels are set to continue rising until the middle of the week.

The Environment Agency (EA) set up the low-level barriers at Upton’s Waterside, near the Swan pub, yesterday afternoon as the river burst its banks.

High-level barriers have been loaded onto trucks so they are available today if needed.

The EA warned that low-lying farmland and caravan parks were flooding between Worcester and Tewkesbury along with low-lying roads at Upton.

Yesterday, the level at the Worcester gauge at Barbourne was 3.8m (12.5ft) above normal levels and rising. It is expected to peak between 3.8m (12.5ft) and 4m (13.1ft) by mid-week.

The level at the Diglis gauge was 3.3m (10.8ft) and is expected to peak between 3.3m (10.8ft) and 3.5m (11.5ft) within 48 hours.

At Bewdley, the level was measured at 3.3m (10.8ft) and was expected to rise between 3.4m (11.1ft) and 3.6m (11.8ft) above normal levels this afternoon.

Worcester News weatherman Paul Damari said more rain was expected over the next five to seven days but would be interspersed with drier spells. He said: “We’ve had about 12.6mm (0.5ins) of rain on Saturday night and yesterday. Through the rest of the week it’s not bad for this area.

“We’ve got some patchy rain during Tuesday and the rest of the week will be drier spells with scattered showers.

“But there’s no real prolonged heavy rain in sight for the next few days.

“It will be mild and breezy.”