Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews have been called to an incident involving school-children who were on a bus that got stuck in flooding in Herefordshire this morning.

The incident occurred near Peterchurch.

We have approached Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service for more information.

Five Herefordshire schools are closed this morning due to a significant flooding incident in some parts of Herefordshire.

Fairfield High School, Clifford Primary School, Longtown Primary School, Michaelchurch Escley Primary School and Peterchurch Primary School have announced they will be closed to ensure the safety of staff and students.

A Flood Warning has been issued on the Dulas Brook in Ewyas Harold this morning.

The Flood Warning, issued by the Environment Agency says:

“River levels are rising at the Ewyas Harold river gauge as a result of heavy rainfall.

“Consequently, flooding of property, roads and farmland is possible today, Wednesday 16/10/24.

“We expect flooding to affect the main road via the left bank at the chip shop. Properties on Prill Road may be impacted 

“Further rainfall is forecast over the next 24 hours. 

“We are closely monitoring the situation.

“Please avoid using low lying footpaths near local watercourses and plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers, which may be flooded.”

More Details – https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/target-area/031FWFDU10

Surface water flooding has also been causing issues on routes across Herefordshire overnight, with further heavy rain and downpours spreading across the county. 

Your Herefordshire has been informed that conditions are difficult on the A465 between Abergavenny and Hereford, as well as many other routes near the border with Wales.

The A438 between Hereford and Letton is badly affected by surface water flooding following downpours this morning.

Cars have reportedly been abandoned on the A480 between Credenhill and Yazor.

Motorists are advised to avoid Ewyas Harold village due to flooding.

Large areas of standing water are causing issues and motorists are advised to drive to the conditions, with heavy downpours expected to continue into Wednesday morning, meaning that more flooding is likely. 

A Met Office weather warning is in place across Herefordshire until midday on Wednesday. 

The warning says:

“Areas of heavy rain are expected to develop and push north across the warning area. 

“Rain will develop in southwest England late afternoon, before becoming heavier and expanding north on Tuesday evening and overnight into Wednesday.

“Many places will see around 10-20 mm of rain, but there is a chance some locations may see considerably more than this over a 6 hour period, most likely parts of southwest England and south Wales. 

“A few places may see 50-80 mm of rain fall in 6 hours. 

“Isolated thunderstorms are also possible in the south of the warning area, with lightning an additional hazard.”

Warning link – https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?id=58ddd516-b754-46c4-963e-056966f8687f&date=2024-10-16

Flood alerts are also in force on the River Arrow, River Frome and River Leadon in Herefordshire, with levels expected to continue to rise over the next 24-48 hours.

Away from the weather, hundreds of homes in Hereford and the surrounding area were without water on Tuesday night.

The issue affected parts of Hereford, as well as the Hampton Bishop area.

Properties on Hampton Park Road, in Hampton Bishop village and also in Mordiford were without water.

Parts of Tupsley were also said to be affected. 

Welsh Water say this was due to overnight essential maintenance work taking place. 

Supplies were expected to be restored by 5am on Wednesday morning. 

For more information, please visit – https://inyourarea.digdat.co.uk/dwrcymru?loc=HR4+9FG