CARPETS and furniture were being lifted in Kempsey and Upton-upon-Severn today as the River Severn threatened to burst its banks.

Water has been lapping close to the door of Upton's low-lying Swan Hotel as staff moved furniture from the bar and rolled up the carpets.

"It's a mad panic here," said cleaner Samantha Hooker, yesterday. "The steps outside the front of the hotel are still clear, but it is due to rise another 10 inches ."

At the King's Head, further along Waterside, Clare Bunn said the river still had some way to go before it threatened the pub.

"We have visible markers that we keep an eye on and we know that when it reaches a certain point we have to start moving things, but it hasn't got there yet," she said.

In Kempsey's Church Street, Catherine Oram was looking after the flood-threatened home of her parents Rex and Joy.

"At the moment, the river is in the dip in the road outside the church and there is still a few metres to come down," she said.

"We know we're going to flood when we have four inches in the drain, but it isn't there yet. In the meantime we've lifted all the small things, like books and crockery.

"If the water reaches the marker we can move the big things fairly fast, with some help."

One of the good things about living in a community like Kempsey was that everyone would rally round and pull together, she said.

An Environment Agency spokesman agreed that the water could rise another 10 inches, giving about an inch of water in Upton's Swan Hotel.

"But it would probably be the only property affected if the water does rise," she said.

"We are expecting more rain and there is a flood warning on the River Avon, which can affect the bottom of the Severn, with flood water backing up towards Upton."