A block of 34 flats in the Black Country had to be evacuated after a water tank and heating system was ripped out by metal thieves, causing homes to be flooded.

Families in council-owned Stanton House in Beacon View Road, West Bromwich, were evacuated after water penetrated the electricity supply, forcing the the power to be cut.

Those affected were told to stay elsewhere while the problem is resolved, with Sandwell Homes paying for those with nowhere to go to stay in hotels. The tank and heating system was taken from an empty flat in the block on Wednesday evening.

Sandwell Homes today confirmed the theft had resulted in water damage to a number of flats, including the electricity systems within the building, but families had begun returning today.

Adam Fox, aged 47, who lives on the sixth floor moved back home this morning. He said it was the bottom three floors affected by the flooding.

“I stayed with my sister in the Yew Tree estate,” he said. “There was a fair bit of disruption, but you get by.”

Mother-of-two Caroline Furnivall, aged 24, who lives in a two-bed flat in the block with her daughters aged one and seven refused to leave and stayed there without water and electricity because she was too worried about it being broken into.

“I had been shopping the day before and £54 of food from the freezer is now ruined,” she said.

Electricity provider E.On switched off power to the flats at 6.20pm on Wednesday night for health and safety reasons. It was switched back on at 3.40pm yesterday.

Sandwell Homes, which is responsible for the management of Sandwell Council’s 29,000 council homes said it could not yet put a figure on the amount of damage caused by the flood.

Police are investigating the theft and anyone with information is asked to call West Bromwich police station on 0845 113 5000.