Families flee landslide threat
Frightened families have been evacuated from their homes at Bewdley after a landslip near the Severn Valley Railway threatened to send an ava-lanche crashing down on them.
People from six homes in Northwood Lane were told to leave after part of the railway track, saturated by weeks of incessant rain, was discovered to be in danger of being engulfed by tons of rock, mud and debris.
The hillside near Northwood Halt has become unstable and trees seem to be all that is preventing it from collapsing on to the railway and chalet bungalows below.
But some families, including Colin Wing and his wife, Beryl, have chosen to stay in their homes despite fears that the hillside could break away after cracks up to 40 metres long opened up alongside and beneath the track.
Mr Wing, a 67-year-old retired greengrocer, who had shops at Droitwich, Old Hill and Smethwick, said: "We are staying. We can see where the crack in the hillside is but we are about 500 yards away."
Martyn Harbourne, 60, and his wife, Anna, 57, live above the railway line and it was feared their home might be in danger of sliding down the hillside. He said: "We think work may have been carried out to shore up the area but we have not been told what is happening."
Severn Valley Railway traffic manager Dewi Jones said: "Water has been pouring out of the hillside. The indications are that the pressure of the water and the moving hillside may be too much for the embankment to hold." Consulting civil engineer Jonathan Symonds today estimated it could cost £600,000 to carry out repairs at Northwood.
Meanwhile, officials fear another £250,000 might be needed to repair the damage to Severn Valley Railway, despite a recent £20,000 donation from by the West Bromwich Building Society.
