A WAITING game was in progress last night in flood-affected parts of the Tewkesbury area, where river levels were due to peak.
Anxious residents and businesses were waiting for flood levels to begin to drop so they could begin properly assessing damage caused to their homes and businesses.
The Environment Agency said the flooding levels at the Mythe, in Tewkesbury, were due to peak at 4.5m or 4.6m – only half a metre below that of 2007.
Sixteen touring caravans were inundated at The Willows site at Lower Lode, Forthampton.
A spokesman said: "It is bad. It's damage to people's property, rather than to the caravan park itself.
"Eight times this year we've had to clear our site of caravans but unfortunately this time we were unable to.
"We've got 16 touring caravans in four or five feet of water. The static ones are perfectly safe on flotation devices."
He said the business had been unable to get the touring caravans to dry land on this occasion because nearby roads had been flooded.
Describing the situation as "a total nightmare", he said it was particularly tough for the owners of the flooded caravans.
"There are a lot of people who are very upset about losing prized possessions. It's a situation we never thought we would be in," he said.
He declined to go into how much the damage would cost and how it would be paid for but added that nobody had been at risk at the site.
People were asked to leave the caravans long before the site flooded, he stressed.
Meanwhile, worshippers are having to wait to assess the damage caused by floodwater having engulfed St Michael and All Angels' Church at Tirley as it remained inaccessible due to the high levels around it.
