ALMOST £5,000 has been raised for the Tenbury community after it was battered by floods.

Storm Bert left Tenbury's streets flooded, with roads closed and shops and businesses badly affected.

The flooding drama culminated in the arrest of a tractor driver on suspicion of criminal damage and dangerous driving after driving through deep floodwater in the town centre.

But a fundraiser set up on Go Fund Me by Lala-Leigh Kisiel is aiming to support those who have been worst hit. 

A tractor was seen making a huge wave in the floods in TenburyA tractor was seen making a huge wave in the floods in Tenbury (Image: SWNS) Ms Kisiel said: "I set up this page to help our community. That is the goal. Also, there was so much negativity and hard feelings going around, especially via social media, that I just felt the need to do something positive.

"Everyone was and still are working together, then there was the tractor incident. I thought this turned into a bit of a witch hunt. The town went from supporting one another to blaming one individual for the whole sorry mess. Imagine having that many people angry at you. I understand the need to blame someone in such a stressful situation but I think we should be turning this into an opportunity to make us a stronger town, to continue to show the kindness to one another that is so natural to the people of Tenbury.

"I am so proud to live in this beautiful place. We continue to get severe flooding without the lack of resources to stop the damage it creates. We have had small businesses have to shut down from the most recent flooding episode and we need to stand together. We are trying to come together as a community and take action."

She has established a new group called Tenbury Wells community flood support, which aims to support households, the community and voluntary and business organisations in Tenbury that have been hit by flooding, as well as to fundraise to help aid flood recovery, resilience and interventions.

The organisation's plan for the coming weeks includes promoting the group, setting up applications for funding, setting up Gift Aid and further building funds.