Revealed: Huge surge in West Midlands ambulance calls as Storm Doris raged

Paramedics were called to dozens of incidents as a result of the raging winds on Thursday, including people who had been hit by debris and trees which had fallen on cars.

Between 10am and 11am the service received 202 calls compared to 141 the day before – an increase of 43.3 per cent – although it is not clear exactly how many incidents were directly related to the storm.

Over the next hour, 183 calls were made to the service and a further 181 calls came in between midday and 1pm.

Bosses described the number of calls at the height of the storm as similar to that on New Year's Day, which this year was the busiest 24-hours for the service on record. A spokesman, said: "Storm Doris certainly presented a number of challenging jobs for our staff across the region.

"We had lots of calls to patients who had been blown over by the force of the wind, as well as those who had been hit by various objects including a carport roof, a marquee and a fence panel.

"Of course there was also the tragic incident in Wolverhampton for which our thoughts remain with the patient's family at this sad time.

"It is a great credit to the skill, dedication and professionalism of our staff that we continued to provide an excellent service in such difficult conditions, ensuring the people of the West Midlands once again received the very best level of patient care."

Storm Doris caused major disruption to the roads and public transport across the region. The High Street in West Bromwich had to be closed and a stretch of the M6 between junction 12 for Gailey and 13 for Stafford South was partially blocked.

Cars were hit by falling branches and damage was reported to several buildings, including the Quality Hotel in Wolverhampton, Springvale Cricket Club and Harry Mitchell Leisure Centre in Smethwick.

Elsewhere in the UK, it emerged a girl was left with life-threatening injuries after a school sports hall ceiling collapsed in Milton Keynes. And a man was left in a serious condition after reports of debris falling from the roof of a building by Victoria Station.

In Stoke-on-Trent a woman in her 60s was taken to hospital for a 'serious head injury' after being hit by a carport roof. The top wind speed of 94mph was recorded at Capel Curig, north Wales. Winds of around 20mph are expected across the Black Country and Staffordshire this weekend.