Floods Breifing: FLOODS CRISIS

"Keep an eye out for signs and listen to the radio," was the message from Worcester City Council's principal engineer Andy Walford today.

"We cannot do any more than we are doing with regard to signs. We have done, as far as we are concerned, a sensible amount of signage."

Mr Walford's comments have come after criticism in yesterday's Evening News at the lack of signs on the north side of Worcester, causing some motorists to get as far as town itself before realising the bridge was closed.

"There is a ring of signs all around the city - we have put out about 50 signs. We have not got the resources to put out any more," he said.

"The signage is exactly the same as last time and our attitude is 'if it 'ain't broke don't fix it'. We've done our best. This is in addition to closing roads, putting out cones and barriers, helping people with properties, diverting buses."

"In terms of the bridge closing, I actually phoned the local radio stations myself on Wednesday and told them the bridge would be closing and I'm sure the information went out very quickly."

More buses

MORE buses will be added to the Christmas park-and-ride service in Worcester tomorrow, to ensure the frequency of buses is not affected.

Worcester City Council principal engineer Andy Walford has promised "at least one" extra bus from all city park-and-ride sites.

If Worcester's main bridge remains closed, buses will go via the southern link bypass.

"The service from Christopher Whitehead High School will be complicated by the fact the bridge is closed so we're getting a lot of extra buses to maintain the service frequency via the Ketch," said Mr Walford.

A FIREFIGHTER at the centre of Upton-upon-Severn's November flood rescues has resigned in protest at the service's response to calls for help.

Retained firefighter Dave Walker and two of his colleagues were praised following their efforts which saw them co-ordinating relief from Upton Fire Station.

But they landed themselves in hot water after it emerged that some of their responses fell outside the official remit of the fire service to respond to 999 emergencies.

Mr Walker was reprimanded for using Fire Brigade Resources, including the Upton Community Rescue Boat, for non-emergency purposes and for organising hot meals for TA members providing a shuttle service along the river.

Earlier this week Mr Walker found himself in a similar situation and quit.

"It is as if they have turned the clock back again," he said. "They wouldn't allow us to use equipment at the station as we did last time.

"We used our intelligence and we were still on stand-by for 999 calls, so what's the difference?"

He and other members of the voluntary crew were still out today helping elderly people to lift sandbags and move furniture.

Fire brigade spokesman Alec Mackie said he was not aware of any official flood-related emergency calls the fire service had been required to respond to.

But he confirmed the resignation.

"He and his retained crew have done a grand job down there," he said.

"We wish him well and thank him for what he has done over the years."

District councillor Mary Wilkinson said the resignation should not have happened.

"Dave Walker is the lynchpin for the whole flood operation. He knows it inside out," she said.

Cruisers 'threaten city bridge re-opening'

TWO wayward pleasure cruisers were in danger of scuppering attempts to re-open Worcester's old bridge.

A police spokesman revealed last night that the Army was being drafted in to secure the Severn Traveller and Pride of the Midlands' after fast-flowing floodwater threatened to cut them adrift from their moorings.

City council engineers, who have been monitoring flood levels in the city, were today considering whether or not to re-open the main bridge they closed on Wednesday.

"They're not loose at the moment, but the Army has been brought in to secure them properly," said city police spokesman Gus Swanson.

"Some repairs have already been carried out to the moorings, but until the Army comes in and does a proper job, there are no plans to re-open the bridge."

Andy Walford, principal engineer for the city council, said: "The issue has been one of risk assessment. There are concerns about the boats striking the bridge if they came away from their moorings.

"On the other hand, it may be impractical to move the boats, as they could slip their moorings and crash into the bridge anyhow. The problem has been trying to quantify all the risks involved."

Mr Walford said it had been decided by the multi-agency group Silver Control, which meets twice a day to discuss flood issues, that the Army would advise Worcester Steamer Co on how to make the moorings more secure and thus guarantee the safety of the boats and the bridge.

He said this would then be "overseen" by Worcester City Council.

Worcester Steamer Co was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

A FURIOUS Worcester nightclub owner has taken legal advice after claiming soldiers ferrying pedestrians through the floods are ruining his premises by driving too fast.

Steve Bradford, who owns Images in The Butts, said he could "probably water ski off the back" of the Army trucks because they were going so quickly.

The off-road vehicles were drafted in on Wednesday after police closed Worcester Bridge and New Road due to floods.

Mr Bradford said the vehicles - being used by Royal Artillery 214 Worcestershire Battery Territorial Army, and the Royal Welsh Fusiliers - were going so fast they caused wakes which meant water flooding into the nightclub though the club's back door.

"I'm fuming," he said.

"I know people say the Army is doing a good job and I'd agree with that. But what's the point in doing a good job one end of the city if they're doing a bad job at the other?

"Every time the Army goes past they create a wake which then sends water into my club. I've got people trying to mop up the mess but it just keeps happening."

Mr Bradford added he would not be able to claim from his insurance company because the Army vehicles - and not floodwater entering the club - had caused the damage.

But he added he could not understand why The Butts was being used when other drier roads could be used.

"There's no need for this road to be used," he said.

"The police are getting around the city without using this road so why can't the Army use another route?"

Worcester police spokeswoman Fiona Harrison confirmed officers had received complaints from the nightclub owner.

"We've spoken to the soldiers about the issue of speed," she said.

But Sgt Major Tony Matthews said soldiers had to travel at the speeds to ensure the trucks did not stall in the deep floodwater.

He added the vehicles were using The Butts not only because it was the most direct route to the city centre, but also because it avoided adding to the congestion in Worcester.

"We're trying to provide a service to help people," he said.

"We're using The Butts because we need to, not because we want to."

VILLAGERS in Kempsey are calling for Environment Agency measures to be imposed as soon as possible to avoid future flooding.

Houses in Church Street and the Crown Pub are under around seven inches of water after the Hatfield Brook burst its banks.

Villagers say that they were told that the Environment Agency has a way of preventing this from happening, but has still to put the scheme into action.

"Residents have been writing to the Environment Agency for years," said Mark Cownie, of Church Street.

"They said that three years ago the plans were dropped because of the floods in Evesham and that all the money was spent on the people there.

"The whole street has flooded again. Why couldn't they implement this simple, cost-effective plan to prevent this."

The plan would involve building a structure that would allow water to flow even if the river has risen.

The same system has already been implemented in Weston-Super-Mare and in Essex.

"I would be behind this. I intend to contact the Environment Agency to put pressure on them and bring forward these plans," said Malvern Hills District Councillor Mike Biddle.

"I've lived in Kempsey for 30 years and these floods are the worst I've ever seen.

"The Environment Agency is responsible for any improvements or flood alleviation."

This is the second time in six weeks villagers in Kempsey have faced flooding.

The Environment Agency said all schemes had to be considered feasible before being implemented.

Feasibility study

"One part of the feasibility study is how many people the floods affects," said Jackie Banks, team leader for flood defences.

"In Kempsey, although they do get flooded, it's not as much as in other places, so although it's on a priority list there are other places which need schemes more.

"If the scheme is built it will only reduce the risk, it can't prevent flooding."

Minister

confirms flood cash top-up

THE Government has confirmed that the arrangements introduced to provide emergency financial assistance to local authorities dealing with the autumn floods will be extended to include the current crisis.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has sent a letter to all local authorities, including Worcestershire County Council, clarifying the rules regarding eligibility for assistance under the Bellwin scheme.

Under the current scheme, Government grant is paid to all authorities who incur expenditure dealing with emergencies over a threshold that is normally 0.2 per cent of their budget.

Last month, Mr Prescott announced the rate of Government support for councils dealing with the autumn floods would increase from 85 per cent to 100 per cent of qualifying expenditure above the threshold.

Commended

"Councils and other authorities around the country should be commended for the tireless and professional way they have dealt with the current floods," said Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food Minister Elliott Morley.

"Although they have a responsibility to budget for these types of emergencies, this year's floods have clearly been exceptional."

He added that more flooding could be expected throughout the winter because of the saturated ground.

WORCESTERSHIRE County Cricket Club will continue to hold Christmas celebrations at its New Road headquarters, contrary to a report in yesterday's Evening News.

The report stated the club had had to cancel a "full order book" of Yuletide events due to the flooding, but WCCC's secretary Mike Vockins said today that this was not the case.

"It's true we cancelled a function on Wednesday evening owing to the water in New Road making the Suite inaccessible," said Mr Vockins.

"However, our catering staff have volunteered to work on Sunday evening to re-stage the function for our clients if they are able to rearrange as well.

"Other functions we are reviewing day by day, so to say we have cancelled all our Yuletide celebrations is wrong.

"Our intention is to stage as many as we can and the staff are working manfully with this intention.

"Our catering manager is working immensely hard to keep all our functions going despite the flood."