HOMEOWNERS are picking up the pieces after being hit by devastating flooding in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Powick residents woke in the night to find the River Teme had broken its banks, sending unstoppable floods heading towards their homes.

The emergency services rushed into action, evacuating more than 30 people shortly after 2am. No-one was injured but a housebound elderly resident had to be carried to safety and taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

With nowhere for the distressed residents to go, landlord Richard Sizer and barman Dougie Austin opened up the Red Lion pub and started serving hot drinks at around 2.30am.

Mr Austin, whose own home was under two feet of water, said there were hectic scenes throughout the night.

"The water started to come up really quickly at about 1am and within half an hour it had risen three feet and was coming into people's houses," he said. "Everyone was talking about it and was very shocked but we realised we couldn't do much about it."

Steve and Tracey Taylor returned to their ruined home in Powick Village at around 2pm on Wednesday to face thousands of pounds worth of damage.

"There was about three inches of water left in the house but it had been up to about 18 inches the night before," said Mr Taylor. "All we could do was make sure our animals were safe and grab a few irreplaceable photos. We just didn't have a chance to save anything else.

"It's hard to explain how we feel today. It was like something out of a movie, you don't expect to watch the water rise that fast towards your home."

It was a similar story in Bransford where up to four feet of water swamped houses in Court Lane and The Fox Inn.

The closure of the A449 at Powick on Wednesday morning left Malvern virtually cut off from the north of the county, with traffic chaos ensuing as motorists sought alternate routes.

Several chose to travel via Upton, where flood defences kept water at bay from the town despite substantial flooding on the Hanley Road.