PEOPLE living in a Hereford street at risk of flooding have battened down the hatches as they wait to see if their homes are flooding.

Greyfriars Avenue flood warden Colin Taylor said the street was only on a flood alert this morning (Thursday), telling them to be prepared for flooding.

But that was then upgraded to a flood warning at lunchtime, whereby people should act as flooding is expected.

RELATED NEWS:

But despite that, the Environment Agency has been slow at giving out predicted peaks for rivers across England due to industrial action.

It has now said the river should peak at up to 5.2 metres overnight, which should mean most homes in the avenue avoid being flooded.

Want to get the latest breaking news alerts sent straight to you? It's easy, just sign up for our breaking news email alerts here and the most important stories will be delivered straight to your inbox.

But Mr Taylor said he has been out to check on the residents and they are battened down for the night, with carpets and furniture moved up off the floor in case of flooding.

The flood warning is still in force and, as of 9.30pm, the river Wye at Old Bridge was at 4.84 metres and still rising.

OTHER NEWS:

When most of the avenue was flooded in February 2020 in the wake of Storm Dennis, the level reached 6.11 metres.

The Environment Agency's former Herefordshire and Worcestershire area manager Dave Throup said it looks like the Wye at Bredwardine is going to peak at around 6.45 metres.

He said this means the A438 Brecon Road at Letton, which is already closed, will be severely flooded with fast-flowing water.

"This level is about 10cm lower than last February when the level at Hereford reached 5.36m," he said, meaning a peak of five metres or higher is "looking likely" at Old Bridge.