AFTER a brief respite from flooding with a bout of cold weather instead, the river Severn burst its banks again and six flood warnings were put in place across Worcestershire.

The Environment Agency are expecting the river to peak tonight and into tomorrow morning, but weather forecaster Frank Hill said it was unlikely the water would recede much because of the amount of heavy rain which fell this afternoon.

He said: "I don't anticipate much improvement in the flooded areas over the weekend as today's rain will make matters worse for a time and the continued combination of low pressure and strong south western winds will maintain high water levels in the Bristol Channel and Severn estuary, so inland water cannot drain away."

Flood water has been causing problems at several places throughout the county, including Holt Fleet, Hanley Castle and Saxons Lode, Pitchcroft Racecourse, Hanley Road, in Upton-upon-Severn, Court Meadow, Kempsey and Callow End, near Worcester, and south Worcester, including Hood Street, Quay Street, Waterworks Road, Newport Street, Diglis Dock Road and Pitchcroft Lane and Croft Road.

Pitchcroft Moors car park, on Castle Street, was also forced to close to users today after water from the racecourse spilled over.

Mr Hill did, however, predict that the weekend would be relatively dry with just a few showers, winds about 25mph and temperatures reaching up to seven degrees celsius.

As most of the West Midlands and other parts of the country, get ready for snow and temperatures dropping below freezing, Worcestershire County Council will be putting gritters on standby from tonight to combat the rain, wind and low road surface temperature that has the potential to lead to black ice and bring traffic to a halt.

Drivers are reminded that due to the exceptional amount of rainfall throughout the past few weeks, surface water could quickly develop into black ice and are urged to adjust their driving accordingly, and should never assume a road has been gritted.

Flooding advice for residents and businesses is available at worcestershire.gov.uk/flooding and you can stay up to date with the latest road closures and bus disruptions on Twitter with #WorcsWeather.