THE Army was expected back on the streets of the Faithful City today after the city's main road bridge was closed to all traffic.

Worcester Bridge faced being shut for the rest of the week as floodwaters in the city continued to rise.

The nearest crossing points were Holt Fleet and the 'new' bridge at The Ketch.

It is the second time in six weeks the city bridge has been closed.

Last month, Army lorries were used to transport workers from St John's across the Severn.

The news follows on the heels of fierce storms with winds of up to 80mph, which brought fresh misery to thousands of people already suffering under the floods.

Homes in Herefordshire and Worcestershire were left without electricity this morning after power lines were battered.

Communities were also cut off by fallen trees.

Worcester firefighters were sent to Bewdley this morning to rescue an elderly disabled woman from her flooded home in Severnside South.

Meanwhile, people were being warned to expect more bad weather.

"The wind levels are expected to drop to around 55mph today, but the main problem is that they've been twisting winds," said Evening News weatherman Paul Damari. "These are what we call squally winds. They can twist trees out of the ground so easily."

Falling trees caused problems at Holt Fleet, which is where traffic was being diverted to cross the river earlier today.

Electricity providers GPU Power UK - formerly MEB - said engineers were working as hard as they could to restore power quickly.

"We've received hundreds of calls this morning from right across the two counties," said a spokeswoman for the Worcester-based firm.

"We've pulled people in from planned jobs to help restore power, and we've also called in people from other companies.

"The main problem we had was that we didn't get the warning until midnight."