Moment tractor driver ploughs through town centre floods sending waves smashing through windows – as man, 57, arrested

A MAN has been arrested connected suspicion of transgression harm and unsafe driving aft shocking footage showed a tractor being driven done floodwater successful Worcestershire during Storm Bert.

West Mercia Police said the 57-year-old has been released connected bail portion inquiries proceed into what happened successful Tenbury connected Sunday.

Many concern owners successful the municipality said waves caused by the tractor smashed windows of already flood-hit premises and worsened the deluge successful immoderate areas protected by sandbags.

Videos of the tractor ploughing done the floodwater caused outrage aft they circulated connected social media.

Inspector Dave Wise, who leads the safer neighbourhood squad successful Tenbury Wells, said: "I'd similar to convey everyone who brought this incidental to our attraction and to the section assemblage for their practice and enactment yesterday portion we carried our archetypal inquiries.

"I recognize the upset and choler that the incidental caused, and I anticipation that the apprehension we made yesterday evening offers reassurance that we are actively investigating it.

"Officers volition proceed to beryllium retired and astir successful Tenbury successful the coming days to assistance the section assemblage and our spouse agencies with betterment efforts pursuing the flooding."

Parts of Tenbury municipality centre were flooded by the Kyre Brook aft a partition reportedly collapsed.

Seeing the footage shared connected societal media, 1 idiosyncratic wrote: "Sends a 6ft bow question done Tenbury store windows. Locals understandably livid."

Another nonmigratory added: "The scenes from Tenbury Wells are shocking and to work idiosyncratic driving a tractor astatine velocity done the flood h2o and causing much harm is unbelievable."

While a 3rd added: "We each managed to support the h2o retired of the shops etc, he's driven through, smashed each the windows and doors and bankrupted Tenbury."

Storm Bert caused floods to swamp the Worcestershire marketplace municipality connected Sunday.

The adjacent Kyre Brook burst its banks and swept distant a ceramic partition earlier coursing down the town's main street.

Rescuers were heard shouting "get back" arsenic locals scrambled to dodge the surging waters.

Small store owners were seen consoling each different arsenic they assessed the harm the tempest had connected their businesses.

However, respective praised the locals successful the municipality for coming unneurotic successful this hard time.

Louise Preston, 20, who co-owns pottery store Pitter Potter with her mum, said: "People are banding unneurotic really, truly well.

"Our business, personally, has not suffered anyplace adjacent arsenic severely arsenic it could person done."

She said the concern had mislaid a window, adding: "What has been truly heart-warming to spot is the assemblage spirit.

"We've had constabulary enactment officers down, the firemen were marvellous yesterday, Tesco has been giving radical escaped cleaning materials, the cafes - who themselves person suffered - person been donating escaped beverage and java to everybody.

"As a town, we look to beryllium coping rather well."

It comes aft Brits brace for different hammering of "persistent and heavy" rainfall conscionable days aft Storm Bert devastated homes crossed the UK.

And this is the baffling infinitesimal constabulary stopped a reckless operator who utilized shoelaces to run his windscreen wipers during Storm Bert.