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Bricks thrown at firefighters dealing with Wednesbury flood

Bricks were thrown at firefighters and cars were reportedly looted while emergency services dealt with flooding in Wednesbury.

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The scene on Leabrook Road in the aftermath of the flooding

Along with police and paramedics, firefighters from across the Black Country spent hours checking submerged cars, making the area safe and pumping millions of litres of water from the scene in Leabrook Road yesterday.

Around 60 firefighters - including specialist water rescue teams - rushed to the scene near Wednesbury Parkway tram station after contractors damaged a 20-inch water main at around 10am.

However it has since emerged that youths threw bricks at firefighters.

At least 17 cars, mainly belonging to residents and commuters using the Midland Metro, were submerged in the 10 million litres of water that escaped from the pipe and many were still sodden on Friday morning.

The rear window of at least one of the cars was smashed yesterday, however it is not known whether that damage was caused maliciously or not.

This car's rear window was smashed. It's not known how the damage was caused.
Damaged cars were being taken away on Friday morning

Some of the written-off vehicles were recovered once the water level had dropped yesterday while others were being towed from the scene this morning.

Pictures taken by a West Midlands Police drone showed Leabrook Road North appearing more like a river than a road yesterday afternoon, with cars, barriers and traffic cones floating in flood water as deep as 9ft (3m) in places .

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Cars in the floodwater near Wednesbury Parkway Midland Metro station

The damaged main has now been fixed after engineers worked throughout the night, but the nearby road surface remains severely damaged - with broken bits of concrete lying in piles next to huge cracks in the road.

However despite barriers blocking off the damaged road, Leabrook Road, the A41 Black Country New Road, and the tram station car park are all back open after being closed during the flooding.

WATCH: Video reveals flood damage

Lea Brook Church, which is the closest building to where the pipe burst, has been closed indefinitely with forthcoming services set to be held elsewhere.

Both West Midlands Fire Service and West Midlands Police have been contacted for comment.