West Midlands braces as flooding enters third day

Flooding misery in the West Midlands has entered its third day, with one high street under water as a new wave of flood alerts are issued for the region.

There were fresh storms on Thursday evening, just hours after it was confirmed that 55 properties had flooded in Birmingham, with other problems from Wednesday onwards including evacuations of pubs, a closed theme park, and a business that "lost everything".

In the latest incident, in Wolverhampton, flooding linked to a burst main saw Church Street, Bilston, submerged.

Two new flood warnings issued by the Environment Agency (EA) and covering parts of Staffordshire and Warwickshire have since been removed, but flood alerts remain for multiple areas across the region and a Met Office weather warning for thunder storms is in place.

West Midlands Fire Service said it arrived at the scene in Bilston shortly after 03:30 BST on Friday and started working to unblock drains.

Workers from Severn Trent Water also attended while Church Street was cordoned off by police.

It was not immediately clear whether recent heavy rain had contributed to the issue there.

A Severn Trent spokesperson said it was "really hard to say what caused" the burst.

The priority, they added, was to get "the pipes fixed and the area back to normal as quickly and safely as possible" - but there was no "time frame" for when that could be.

The company is working to isolate the issue and divert water to allow people living in flats above the scene to get in and out of their homes.

Although some traders at one end of the street have since been able to open their premises, businesses in the worst affected part have had to remain closed.

Dev Chand, who runs a catering trailer selling curries, said he was losing trade.

"I came to work this morning and the police have said there's no access... so looks like I'm heading back home," he said. "I didn't come in yesterday because of the weather, and obviously I've got a lot of [food] waste."

At the indoor market there, supervisor Ken Bennett told the BBC it was immediately apparent on opening the main shutters that the site had flooded.

He said that while traders would not be happy if they could not open their units, there was a risk of allowing water into their businesses if individual shutters were rolled up.

However, it was confirmed after 09:00 BST that the site was fully operational, although customers cannot enter from Church Street and must use other access points.

CIty of Wolverhampton Council leader Stephen Simkins said the Bilston flood could have a longer-term impact on businesses.

"This is one of the busiest weekends for Bilston - kids returning to school, uniform shopping, and it's a bank holiday weekend," he said.

He added that among his conerns were long waits for insurance payments for any damaged shops.

Severn Trent said in a statement: "We know this is a busy, well-used high street and we are sorry for the impact this will have both to businesses on the high street and those visiting."

The company said it was "working on the network so repairs can begin".

Heavy rain and thunderstorms first hit the West Midlands on Wednesday.

By the following day in Birmingham, some homes had taken on water up to a depth of three feet (one metre).

Fire crews attended the situation across several streets in the Perry Barr area of the city.

Handsworth was another area of Birmingham to experience flash flooding.

City councillor Shuranjeet Singh urged residents to report any blocked drains to him.

"I've reported a few but the council haven't done anything so I am putting together a list. If we don't act now I fear a wet autumn will cause lots of issues," he said.

Parts of Newport in Shropshire also flooded on Thursday, with Telford & Wrekin councillor Thomas Janke posting on social media that there were "long-standing drainage capacity issues".

He said the council was looking into improving drainage, including surveys of the network and holding discussions with Severn Trent about capacity.

Further north, in the Burntwood area of Staffordshire, drainage systems were overwhelmed and roads were under water.

There was also rail disruption in the region on Thursday evening amid more wet weather.

A weather warning remains in place until 21:00 BST, with further storms in some areas potentially bringing up to 20 mm of rain in a short period and between 30 and 40 mm should anywhere see repeated downpours, the Met Office has said.

Lightning and hail could be additional hazards in a few locations before easing on Friday evening.

Two flood warnings issued on Thursday evening have been removed. They had covered Smestow Brook in Hinksford, Staffordshire, where properties were initially thought to be at risk, and Tanyard Stream in Kenilworth, Warwickshire.

There have been multiple lower-level flood alerts in the region covering areas including Birmingham, the Black Country, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire, although it is a changing picture, with the number changing throughout the day.

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