Storm Desmond takes its toll on West Midlands

Elsewhere in the country, thousands of homes were flooded, with Cumbria seeing the worst of the conditions.

West Bromwich Albion was forced to cancel much of the entertainment at its Fanzone ahead of Saturday's match, while a festive market in Wolverhampton was also cancelled.

And firefighters from the West Midlands were sent to Cumbria to help with the emergency flood response.

Ahead of the Baggies game against Spurs at The Hawthorns, the club tweeted: "Sorry all, extreme winds mean no stage, no big screen & no inflatable entertainment operating in the Fanzone today. Live band in marquee."

In Wolverhampton, Saturday's festive market in Dudley Street was also cancelled due to the high winds.

Forecasts of strong winds also forced organisers of Lichfield's Christmas Festival to cancel several activities on Saturday.

Among the events called off were the city council market, the Bird Street food fair and Twinkly Market at Minster Pool Walk, which has been postponed until Saturday. Festival bosses say the decision was made on the grounds of public safety.

And the winds also killed off a well loved straw bale Santa in Staffordshire.

Michelle Thomas from the Whitegate Farm Shop in Wheaton Aston, said: "For Christmas we make a straw bale Santa in our field next to the farm shop for a bit of Christmas fun. It takes about one day to build and dress, myself and my partner Mark Swift had just finished it this week, he was looking great.

"However last night Storm Desmond decided to put Santa to sleep and this morning. Luckily he stayed fully intact and caused no damage falling as he was positioned well out the way behind a fence so he will now be left as sleeping straw bale Santa."

Strong winds and heavy rain tore through Britain on Saturday and a major incident was declared in Cumbria, the worst affected county.

Following an emergency Government meeting, Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said that figures from a rain gauge in Honister, Cumbria, suggested a record amount of rain fell in the 24 hours between Friday and Saturday evenings, measuring 341mm - more than a month's worth of rainfall in just one day and more than the UK has ever experienced in such a short amount of time.

More than 2,000 homes and businesses in the county had been flooded.

She said on Sunday: "There remains a risk of further flooding in some areas and the Environment Agency continues to warn communities in northern England to be prepared today and tomorrow. They have issued more flood warnings and alerts across the country. It is important people continue to heed the advice of the emergency services."

Tens of thousands of people were also left without power and the Army was drafted in to help cope with floods.

Major road closures were also in place and there was disruption across transport networks.

West Midlands Fire Service sent firefighters and specialist equipment to help with the efforts in Cumbria.

A total of 10 specialist staff and equipment held and operated by the brigade were sent as part of national emergency arrangements, including an expert tactical advisor for flooding.

Staff in the Staffordshire and West Midlands Fire Control, working from their emergency centre in Birmingham, were also on hand to help respond to the high number of 999 calls being received in Cumbria.

In London, a 90-year-old man died after he was believed to have been blown into the side of a moving bus by a gust of wind, near Finchley Central Tube station.

Carlisle was one of the most severely affected areas as water levels continued to rise.

Around 350 Army personnel, two vehicles and a Chinook helicopter were made available from 2nd Battalion Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, based in Weeton Barracks near Preston, to assist with the warning and evacuating residents in streets where cars were almost entirely submerged.

Elsewhere in the country, flooding has caused rivers to burst their banks and even reach record high levels.