Homeowners in the midlands town of Worcester are being urged to contact the city council - as officials fear that many might to be too afraid to ask for help, scared that their insurance premiums will rise if they do.

So far 267 homes and businesses have contacted the council after their homes were wrecked by flooding. The council has urged anyone else affected to "get in touch" - and has promised to keep their details away from the public domain, the Worcester News reports.

"My concern is that many more homes than this were affected by floods, but didn't contact us because they are worried about their insurance, and it being increased because of it," the local paper quotes councillor Allah Ditta, cabinet member for the environment, as saying.

"We don't know the true figure, it could be many times more than that with problems from the floods."