TORRENTIAL rain and freak floods that have wreaked havoc in Belbroughton have drowned plans for this year’s scarecrow weekend.

The traditional festival has been going strong for more than a decade, but organisers have taken the difficult decision to stuff this year’s event - which was due to be held on Saturday September 27 and Sunday September 28.

They say fields normally used as carparks to accommodate thousands of visitors are simply too soggy to cope - after being swamped by torrents of water.

Committee member and parish councillor Tim Cherry said: “We did a thorough inspection with the local farmers and landowners and they’re all impassable because of all the rain we’ve had. It’s not drying out at this time of year and we dare not risk having thousands of cars getting stuck and damaged.”

He said the loss of the festival - which raises thousands of pounds for village causes - would be a blow to beneficiaries including Holy Trinity Church and Belbroughton School, but he added: “It’s an unhappy decision, but it we’ve been very lucky for 11 years - we have not missed one, and we are now preparing for next year’s event which will be held on September 26 and 27 2009.”

Meanwhile villagers hit hard by the flooding were this week left mopping up and salvaging what’s left of their wrecked homes and cars.

Former district nurse Sue Cook has been forced to leave her home at Shut Mill Lane after raging flood water came crashing through her windows, taking all of her furniture with it.

Neighbour Edward Hathaway of Bell End Farm is hoping he’ll be able to restore his prized classic cars that were hit by the water, although his mother Janet wasn’t so lucky and the murky water has written off her BMW.

Elderly villager Tony Martin, who had to be rescued from his home when flood water - three or four feet high - surged in as it swamped the nearby Queens pub, is also among those who have had to move into temporary accommodation while clean-up work is underway.

And Commercial Carpets & Interiors Ltd and ATS air technology systems based at Galton’s Mill have had to move their businesses out of the village after flood water, seven-foot deep, swamped the historic building - just 18 months after being revamped.

Steve Boon of ATS said: “If it had happened in the week it would have been devastating. It was just instantaneous.”

Villager Ruth Cherry added: “Everybody who has lived here for most of their lives has never seen anything like this.”

Residents in the normally picturesque Worcestershire village are now hoping the Environment Agency, the National Trust and council highways bosses can take action to prevent a similar disaster happening in future.