'Significant flooding' prompts fire crew call outs

The Environment Agency (EA) issued a flood warning for Birmingham on Wednesday night, with fire crews called to "significant flooding" in Perry Barr around Curbar Road, Thornbridge Avenue and Haddon Road, telling people to avoid the area.

In south Staffordshire there was a lower-level flood alert, with parts of Chasetown affected. The alert remains in place.

A yellow thunderstorm warning is also in place for England until 22:00 BST on Thursday, with Birmingham seeing heavy downpours just before 08:00 although the flood warning is now removed. Another, however, has been introduced for Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

It was issued for the Spadesbourne Brook area, with the EA saying rising river levels were expected to cause flooding of roads and properties including the Midland Waterlife Centre.

Other parts of the West Midlands were subject to fresh flood alerts on Thursday, with areas of the Black Country, Warwickshire and Shropshire said to be at potential risk.

Despite scaling down its warning for Birmingham, the EA said standing water and debris could persist in the city on Thursday.

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."

"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.

Remaining flood alerts in the wider West Midlands on Thursday morning included the River Blythe in Warwickshire and the River Stour and Smestow Brook in the Black Country and south Staffordshire.

The River Cole and Rea were also subject to alerts, although the EA was not able to offer detail as to specific risk locations.

Flooding may affect low lying land and roads adjacent to the River Salwarpe from Catshill to Hawford in Worcestershire, according to the EA.

Other areas that may be at risk in the county include Stoke Prior, Elmley Lovett, Droitwich Spa and Ombersley.