AN urgent public meeting has been called in Stoke Prior after village homes were deluged with flood water.

Residents in a row of five cottages, in Hanbury Road, had possessions ruined when water cascaded through the front and back doors in the floods which hit the area last month.

Now a public meeting has been called for Wednesday, August 29, so residents, local businesses, British Waterways and Bromsgrove District Council can discuss measures that can be implemented to prevent future flooding.

Stoke Parish Council chairman, Thelma Roll, who is acting as a resident, has co-ordinated the meeting.

"This is a chance for everyone to come together to discuss the issue," she said.

Mrs Roll said the water ran down Harbours Hill and then got caught in the dip by the railway bridge and there was nowhere for it to go as all the local flood plains have been built on.

She added: "This flood should never have happened in the first place and we want action taken to make sure it never does again. Residentswant answers and they have approached me to see if I can help them."

John and Sylvia Lewis, who have lived in the cottages for 50 years, had water rushing in the front and back of their home, it even reached the handle of the back door. Inside their furniture and belongings were ruined including freezers, fridges and a washing machine.

The Navigation Inn had its outbuildings and cellar flooded. The contents of a freezer, four barrels and bottled stock were ruined.

A British Waterways spokesman has said Stoke Prior and surrounding areas experienced extremely heavy rainfall in a short period of time. This resulted in two streams, which run under the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, to over-top causing large volumes of water to rush into the canal, this situation was exacerbated by surface run off from the local business parks. The result of this surcharge of water was to cause the canal to over-top in Stoke Prior causing the flooding in Hanbury Road.

The meeting will be held at Stoke Prior village hall, Hanbury Road, at 7pm. For more details contact Mrs Roll on 831865.