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Man arrested over tractor drive through floods

The tractor was driven through Tenbury Wells during floods at the weekend

A man has been arrested after a tractor driver was seen driving through deep floodwaters in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, which led to damage to shops.

The town centre was flooded on Sunday after a wall collapsed by Kyre Brook.

In a video shared on social media, a wave from the tractor was seen striking shops and homes overlooking the street, breaking some windows.

A 57-year-old was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and dangerous driving and released on bail while inquiries continue, police said.

A man and a woman stand outside the open door to a shop. The man has dark hair and wears a black T-shirt. The woman has dark hair in a high ponytail and is wearing a grey T-shirt with a diamante butterfly design.
Greetings card shop proprietors Garry and Sarah Thomas said they were worried about how long it would take businesses to recover from the flood

Insp Dave Wise, of West Mercia Police, said: "I'd like to thank everyone who brought this incident to our attention and to the local community for their cooperation and support yesterday while we carried our initial inquiries."

Adding he understood the upset and anger caused, he said: "Officers will continue to be out and about in Tenbury in the coming days to assist the local community and our partner agencies with recovery efforts following the flooding."

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A damp street with layers of mud and rutted tire tracks. Cones can be seen blocking the entrance to a road ahead, a boarded up window by shop sign Pitter Patter, and residents talking to a reporter with a microphone. A fire engine is also visible in the background. debris is piled outside buildings lining the right hand side of the street. The Town in the Orchard pub is in the foreground on the right hand side.
A clean-up is ongoing in Tenbury Wells after the main streets flooded on Sunday

Following the wall collapse, a torrent of water deluged the town centre within seconds with rescue workers yelling to pedestrians to "get back".

Garry and Sarah Thompson's Special Occasions card shop was one of those flooded.

"There's a serious problem in Tenbury now," Mr Thompson said.

"We’ve got a risk of businesses leaving the town."

He said it had taken the town "a good two years" to recover from previous flooding in 2007.

"So that's pretty scary," he added.

Paul and Rachel Rogers, from Nature's Design Studio, described how water entered their shop for the first time after windows broke.

"It's caused so much devastation," Mrs Rogers said.

"We have buildings insurance but we don't have contents insurance. It's going to cost us."

The Crow pub also flooded after water overwhelmed sandbags and smashed through windows.

Licensee Paul Birkin described it as a "miracle" nobody was hurt.

"[The water] actually hit the back wall you know, I mean there's glass all over the place," he said. "Absolutely distraught."

A man and woman at the entrance to a kitchen design shop. The man has a light beard, freckled face and is wearing a khaki coat and grey T-shirt. The woman has curly light brown hair tied back in a low ponytail and is wearing a blue and grey checked shirt. Flowers can be seen in a vase on a kitchen worktop in the background.
Paul and Rachel Rogers, from Nature's Design Studio, were concerned insurers would not cover the cost of flood damage

Worcestershire county councillor David Chambers described his frustration over the lack of flood defences in the town.

The Conservative member said: "We're lobbying as hard as we possibly can and I have to say there's real frustration now that progress doesn't seem to be happening."

The Environment Agency said it had been complex to design a scheme in keeping with the town's heritage and funding was needed to deliver it.

"We're working tirelessly to try and get something because we see the impact that Tenbury’s had and it’s not sustainable for that community at all," said Nick Green, from the agency.

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