Flooding that hit large parts of Gloucestershire five years ago has had an unforeseen consequence.
Infant schools in the county are under unprecedented pressure because of an increase in the number of five-year-olds needing places. The rise in the birth rate in 2008 is being attributed to the number of couples who found ways to keep themselves entertained while trapped in their homes.
The floods closed roads across Gloucestershire in July 2007 as well as knocking out the county’s water supplies. Thousands of residents were stranded, unable to get to work, as well as those actually trapped in their own homes.
Nine months later there was a dramatic jump in the birth rate and now the country’s education department is trying to find an extra