Hylton Road remains closed as drains struggle to cope

A MAJOR road in Worcester remains closed today (Monday) while its drains continue to struggle to cope with the heavy rainfall and flooding.

Engineers from Severn Trent and officers from the Environment Agency have been working tirelessly to try and clear water on Hylton Road all weekend.

The road and the homes and businesses along it are protected by a flood barrier but this has not been able to prevent flooding on the road caused by the drainage system.

Five pumps are currently being used to try and clear the water which has caused the road to be closed to traffic.

Sarah-Jayne O'Kane from Severn Trent said: "We did manage to clear the flooding on Saturday and we re-opened road. However, since the rain started again the flooding has returned and we have had to reclose the road. Our sewer system is designed to take away sewage and unfortunately just can’t cope with this amount of rainwater."

"We are working with the Environment Agency to acquire additional pumps as we need to prioritise our remaining pump resources to Bewdley where our pumping away of flood water protects customer properties."

"We will continue to work on pumping the floodwater away until we can reopen the road."

Meanwhile the county council is urging motorists out visiting family and friends on Christmas Day and Boxing Day to take extra care on the roads.

The continued rainfall and showers over the festive period are expected to cause more surface water on roads, further localised flooding and road closures.

The council has echoed the flooding and driving advice to motorists issued by the West Mercia Safer Roads Partnership.

* Before making a journey for up-to-date weather information visit the Met Office website.

* For the latest information regarding flooding advice please visit the Environment Agency website.

* For the latest road closures across the county visit the alerts on the County Council homepage: www.worcestershire.gov.uk. Those with an iPhone can access the alerts via the app (available from the App Store).

* Flooding advice for residents and businesses is available at www.worcestershire.gov.uk/flooding

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