Fresh storms strike as flooding clear-up continues

Fresh storms struck the West Midlands on Thursday evening, as the clear up operation continued after heavy rain pummelled the area previously.

Rail lines were blocked at Hall Green and Solihull with rain also affecting services near Solihull. Replacement buses were in operation between Shirley and Stratford-upon-Avon while damage to overhead wires delayed services between Coventry and Nuneaton.

Earlier, Birmingham City Council said 55 properties in the city had experienced internal flooding, with water levels reaching up to one metre in the worst-affected homes.

Fire crews were called to "significant flooding" in Perry Barr around Curbar Road, Thornbridge Avenue and Haddon Road and told people to avoid the area, following a flood warning from the Environment Agency (EA) on Wednesday.

Heavy rain and flooding also occurred right across the region, including in Stafford and Burntwood, with public transport being affected.

The city council said it understood the significant impact that the flooding had had on residents in the area, and had been working closely with partner agencies to support those impacted.

Door-to-door visits were carried out on Wednesday night to identify vulnerable residents and council tenants affected by the flooding.

They also said arrangements were in place for follow-up support to vulnerable residents and affected council tenants.

"National Grid has been alerted to attend to a vulnerable resident who relies on electricity to power essential medical equipment as a priority," they added.

The council also said: "We understand that people have questions around the maintenance of drains in the area and if they played a role in the flood.

"However, the floods occurred because Perry Brook broke its banks as a result of the extreme weather. Once the banks of Perry Brook broke, the highway drainage network then played its role in dispersing the flood water."

The local authority said it was continuing to work with relevant agencies to put preventative measures in place ahead of further rainfall forecast.

Leah Courtney runs a small business creating memory bears from a cabin in her Great Barr garden.

The cabin has been badly damaged during the overnight rain.

Courtney said she waded through knee-high water with bare feet to try and salvage anything she could.

"Machines have been lost, storage units have been damaged," she said.

"I've lost my whole space where I create beautiful memory bears for people... I've got nothing left."

She has also had to bring machinery, blades and pins into her house, and is concerned about the impact it could have on her son, who is autistic.

"I've now got objects that are dangerous... around an autistic little boy who doesn't understand," she says.

While she knew the area had flooded before she moved in to the house in 2016, she did not expect it to happen again.

"I literally just thought it was going to be a thunderstorm like we've had many times before," she says.

"This was ungodly."

One of the roads which has flooded in Stafford is Sandon Road.

Stafford resident Rick Barrett says the flooding on the road is a "usual problem" for people in the area.

Barrett is a local gardener who works on some of the properties in the area.

"It's frustrating for the businesses," he told the BBC.

"The local pubs, local shops. It's the same old story."

Barrett says the issue has been going on for more than 20 years.

"It just doesn't alter. It's become part of the norm. Everybody talks about it. In this day and age, there must be a process to put it right but we don't seem to get it."

Chasetown resident Sue Woodhouse said flooding on Saint Annes Close on Wednesday evening was "the worst we've seen it in the last seven years of living here".

"It was awful, absolutely awful, never seen rain like it - flooding everywhere," she said. "It came right to the grass, right up above the curbs and flooded the whole cul de sac really."

She said heavy rain had returned on Thursday morning.

"I reckon we're going to get flooded yet again," she said. "I don't think it'll come in the house but it might come up the garden."

She added that she was concerned that the elderly residents of the cul-de-sac, who were in bed when the flood hit last night, would not be able to leave their homes.

She said the water there was "really deep".

There are currently no flood warnings in force across the West Midlands, but a number of alerts in places where flooding is deemed possible.

These include the River Salwarpe in Worcestershire, the River Blythe in Warwickshire, the Upper Tame at Sandwell Valley and the River Rea in Birmingham.

Flood alerts are also active on the River Stour near Kingswinford, and the River Sow and River Penk near Stafford.

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