| "We've got two foot of water, but we're not the worst hit... my neighbour's got saucepans floating round in his bungalow. It's just devastating." | | Local resident |
If you were sitting enjoying the evening sun in South Shropshire on 4 July, you might have seen a few drops of rain. There might have been a rumble of distant thunder. Your worst problem might have been a bit of interference on your TV as you watched Italy beating Germany in the World Cup. But if you were in Albrighton or Cosford in the east of the county, you would have had more to worry about. Flash floods sent water surging along streets and into houses leaving cars stranded and leaving damage that will cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to clear up.
Children were enjoying the novelty of paddling along the road, but their parents were left with the prospect of clearing the debris left by the water and replacing saturated carpets and furniture. As many as 70 Albrighton houses were flooded and emergency services took about a hundred 999 calls, but there was little Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service could do until the waters subsided. Wednesday morning saw the A41 reopened, although mud and silt left it very slippery, and two schools were closed - Albrighton Junior School and Birchfield Preparatory School for Boys.
 | | BBC Radio Shropshire's Susie Parkes |
BBC Radio Shropshire reporter Susie Parkes went to Cosford - her summer clothing wasn't quite right for the situation and the BBC waders must have been elsewhere. The rainfall was exceptional and nobody could remember floods like that in the area, but residents claimed that the council had known for two years that there was a risk and had done nothing about it. | 
