Farmer says livestock struggling due to heavy rain

A livestock farmer has been forced to move some of his animals to higher ground, due to rising water levels following persistent heavy rain.

Chris Golding, who owns Pinford Farm, in Herefordshire, said there was "no stopping" the water this year, which had started to flood "everything" including his fields and cattle sheds.

The Met Office said England had already seen more than a 110% of the average amount of rainfall it would typically expect across the whole winter.

Golding, who has cows and sheep, said his animals were struggling with the difference in temperature and conditions, and he had to "give them somewhere dry to lie and feed".

"One minute they're dry they're walking about, sunning themselves like us," he explained.

"The next minute... it's cold, it's wet and nobody likes wet and cold. Not even the animals."

Golding, whose farm is by the Rudhall Brook, said farming was a "real struggle" during wet weather.

"It just starts to flood everything, across the fields, risk of water in the sheds with the cattle," he said. "And there's no stopping it, there's no hope."

The farmer said he had spent the weekend sandbagging his house and pumping water out of barns.

"It got to the stage where... I'd moved one lot of cattle because they were in one shed up to their knees," he said.

Golding added that nearby housing developments were also affecting the amount of water, with less exposed land available to soak it up.

He added: "We're having the same amount of rainfall - we're just getting it more intense and in short periods of time.

"We were praying for rain and now we're praying for sun."

Eight flood warnings are currently in place for Worcestershire, on sections of the River Severn and Avon.

Astwood Bank, in Worcestershire, is one of three areas in the country that have recorded rain over 40 consecutive days - every single day since the beginning of the year.

Jamie Ratcliffe, from Botany Bay Garden Centre in the village, spoke of how the wet weather had also affected plants.

"It's rained every day and we're having to be quite careful with the plants really," he said.

"Some we move inside - they're sensitive to rain and frost and we want to give them the best protection that we can."

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