Vandalism near Welshpool has left flood-prone communities on the River Severn with no warning system for when water levels are rising.

Equipment that sends river level information to a flood warning system was recently vandalised, putting communities along the river who rely on early flood alerts at risk.

The vital equipment at various sites in Welshpool has been damaged on separate occasions over the last two months.

Natural Resources Wales runs a network of sites across Wales which collect river and sea level readings in real time.

This information is then used to trigger localised flood alerts and warnings when river or sea levels become too high.

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The damage to the equipment in the sites near Welshpool has resulted in Natural Resources Wales having no information on river levels at those locations until necessary repairs were made.

Tim Owen, Natural Resources Wales’ Hydrometry and Telemetry Team Leader said: “This vandalism has really shocked us. The nature of the vandalism suggests that the perpetrator or perpetrators know which part of the equipment to target. This does not seem to be mindless and opportunistic vandalism.

“They are also putting themselves in danger by approaching riverside equipment, often under the cover of darkness.

“People who have signed up for our free flood warning service depend on the information we gather on river levels to let them know if they need to take action to protect themselves, their families and their property. This vandalism has the potential to put lives at risk.

“We repaired the damage as a matter of urgency as soon as they were detected to make sure the flood warning system is working as expected at this time of year.”

The incidents have been reported to Dyfed Powys Police and Natural Resources Wales are also in contact with Rural Crime Officers in the area to further investigate the matter.

Natural resources Wales have confirmed that the water levels were not high enough to be a risk to communities when the equipment was vandalised, but urgent repairs were required to ensure that the alert system was working again.

The organisation is encouraging anyone who has any information that may be useful as part of on-going investigations to contact Tim Owen by emailing timothy.owen@cyfoethnaturiolcymru.gov.uk or Dyfed-Powys Police either online at: https://bit.ly/DPPContactOnline, by emailing 101@dyfed-powys.police.uk, or by calling 101.