PARTS of the Wyre Forest could be plunged under water again as forecasters predict another wet winter.

But despite a miserable three-month forecast over the festive period and into the new year by the Met Office, local experts say it is still too early to tell what kind of flooding disruption could be caused in Worcestershire.

Last winter was the wettest on record, with the average rainfall reaching more than 21 inches, eight inches greater than the usual for the time of year.

And this year's predictions are looking to go the same way with the Met Office saying the outlook "suggests an increased risk of milder and wetter than average conditions".

Although concerns have been raised that this may result in a repeat of the devastating flooding which hit the county at the start of this year, Ian Michaelwaite of Worcestershire-based Netweather said it was very difficult to tell how high the risk was.

"There are going to be some winter storms," he said. "It's inevitable.

"There will certainly be some localised flooding but I can't say if that will be on a wider scale.

"What caused the big issues last year was the very cold conditions in North America and Canada.

"It is very cold over there at the moment but it's starting to warm up so we might not see the same thing."

Mr Michaelwaite added, although the Met Office had predicted a 25 per cent chance of this winter being the wettest on record, it also said there was a 15 per cent chance of it being among the driest.

"It's almost like putting money on a horse race," he said.

"Very preliminary forecasts do indicate we should expect some Atlantic storms, but that's not rocket science."

The Environment Agency's Dave Throup, the officer who came to the rescue of the water-logged county in February's floods, the worst in Worcestershire since 2007, who said a forecast more than 10 days in advance can not be accurate.

"There's been a lot in the media about it being a very wet winter but I think a lot of that is speculation," he said. "No one can really say what the weather is going to do more than 10 days in advance.

"What I can say is that we have had a very wet October and start to November to make up for the dry September, which is what happens wit the weather.

"The capacity to soak up heavy rainfall has now gone, so what rain we do get will build up quite quickly and raise the river levels."

There was a yellow flood warning for brooks in the Wyre Forest in October but there has been no reported incidents.