A FLOOD warning is now in place for a number of north Shropshire and Powys border villages close to Oswestry on Christmas Day.

The Environment Agency (EA) has just three flood warnings in place but two are for the River Vyrnwy, which flows from Powys and meets the Severn at Crew Green.

A flood warning was issued for both Maesbrook and Melverley on Christmas Eve and remain in place on Christmas Day, and could seriously affect roads around the villages, as well as the A483 from Oswestry to Four Crosses.

A spokesman for the EA warned residents to be ready and make preparations for rising water levels, with flooding already expected.

They said: “River levels are rising at the Llanymynech river gauge as a result of heavy rainfall.

“Consequently, flooding of property, roads and farmland is expected.

“We expect flooding to affect properties and roads in and around Melverley including Melverley to Melverley Green and Ponthen to Melverley roads.

“We expect river levels to remain high until 26/12/2023.

“We are closely monitoring the situation. Our incident response staff are checking defences.

“Please move possession and valuables off the ground or to safety.”

The EA spokesman added that updates will be provided as the situation changes or by 10am today (Christmas Day).

The villages have been the centre of flooding in north Shropshire over recent years, with farmland frequently left submerged by rising river water.

The EA has also issued a flood alert for the Severn/Vyrnwy confluence as a knock-on effect from flooding from the river in Llanymynech.