Highway and recovery crews were out in force with emergency sandbags in the community after a weekend of torrential rain.

On Saturday night Staffordshire County Council’s Highways team moved 300 sandbags to help 10 homes in the Upper Tean area of the Staffordshire Moorlands and returned on Sunday with more for other houses threatened by rising river levels.

The team was also working across the county on Saturday night and Sunday, including Cheadle and Blythe Bridge, dealing with flooded roads caused by torrential downpours.

Cllr Keith Flunder, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet support member for Highways (Operations North), was in Upper Tean on Saturday night helping the community. He said: “There were flash floods caused by the volume of water running off roads and fields, and then the river Tean started overflowing as well.

“Parish councillors and residents were out working together and the county council highways team was a great help, delivering sandbags and restoring grids and manhole covers that had burst with the volume of rain.”

Rising water levels also damaged roads by raising surfaces, cracking asphalt and depositing mud and debris across carriageways.

Crews have been closing roads and waiting for water to recede before assessing damage.

Mark Deaville, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Strategic Highways, said: “I am proud of the highways crews: when there is trouble they are out in the worst of the weather delivering help to our communities and it’s been a tremendous effort on their part.

“As well praising our brilliant highways crews, I’d also like to thank our parish councillors and residents for their great community effort at a difficult time, all pulling together to help one another.”

He added: “If you see a road closure sign, please respect it: the water may be deeper than you think, there could be heavy mud making the surface treacherous, or the road surface may have been damaged.”

PIC: STAFFS CC