Businesses 'cut off' by Storm Chandra flooding

Storm Chandra has brought heavy rain and strong winds to Herefordshire and Worcestershire with disruption caused by flooding.

Five flood warnings have been put in place across the two counties while 15 schools were forced to close due to weather-related road closures.

A yellow weather warning for ice has also been issued by the Met Office for the West Midlands on Wednesday.

In the village of Ewyas Harold, a number of businesses have been impacted by the high water levels of nearby Dulas Brook.

The same area was badly hit by flooding in November last year during storm Claudia.

Gino Fulgoni, the landlord of The Temple Bar Inn, said that the flooding has cut the pub off from the rest of the village.

He told BBC Hereford and Worcester: "The river burst in front of the pub at around 08:00 GMT so there is flooding at the end of the road which is why we're cut off.

"It happens at least once a year, from a business point of view, the village is now cut off, we've got lunch and evening bookings that we're probably not going to see. It is frustrating.

"The resilience of the villagers is second to none, they will go out of their way to help someone else, even if they themselves aren't in the best position. That's what gets the village through, everyone helps with repairs and clean up."

The staff at Ewyas Harold Village Shop and Post Office also woke to find the property surrounded by flood water.

Sophie, the manager of the store, said: "Unfortunately it has come into our extension again but we've managed to pump it out."

Due to previous incidents, the shop had built its own flood wall as a defence, but despite this, some water was still able to make it into the property.

She added: "It is a big task, we've got three members in at the moment trying to clean up and make sure it's all safe for everyone."

A Ewyas Harold resident said: "It hasn't been this bad since before Christmas. I've been to check on some residents near the playing field who really do get severely flooded but they have managed to stay dry.

"They built a bund and a wall, they are usually the first people to get flooded when it happens."

Flooding has also occurred in Tenbury Wells causing some shops to fear for the future of their businesses.

Sarah Le Roux, the owner of Bonnie's Pet Supplies said: "The problem is, flooding closes the whole town down, then you can't run your business, people can't get to you and that's the main issue for us.

"My main concern is not being insured. They don't want to insure us because of the high flood risk and we've got no interim plan that could protect us any more than what we've got now which is nothing."

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