Sheffield Wednesday: Effort to help protect Hillsborough Stadium - water begins to break barriers as flood 'expected'

A number gathered at the ground to ‘sandbag’ areas beneath the South Stand, an area of the stadium that has previous fallen foul of flooding in 2019 and most memorably in 2007, when the Wednesday playing surface was entirely covered in water.

Water levels are not forecast to get anywhere close those levels, but could breach the defence walls built to protect the South Stand concourse.

It is understood that efforts have been made to prevent any breach into the stadium itself. Photos sent to The Star show a small amount of water having already leaked onto the open-air concourse below the South Stand at around 6.30pm.

It is hoped water levels will maintain and reduce as time goes on on Monday.

The Environment Agency confirmed that a flood at the stadium was expected to be ‘imminent’. A statement at 4.44pm on Sunday read: “River levels have risen as a result of heavy rainfall this afternoon, 20/02/2022.

“Consequently, flooding of property and roads is imminent, with the first property expected to flood being Hillsborough Stadium (Sheffield Wednesday FC).

“Properties on Rawson Spring Road are also likely to be among the first affected. We expect River levels to peak later this evening but remain elevated overnight into tomorrow, 21/02/2022.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and our incident response staff are closely monitoring the forecast.

“Please avoid using low lying footpaths near local watercourses and plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers, which may be flooded.”