'The rain don't put me off!' We asked hardy Black Country shoppers how they stay comfortable in bad weather

And we asked them: what is their most important winter weather accessory? Would it be hats, gloves, coat, scarves or, reporter Adam Smith's must-have apparel in the winter - long johns?

Brenda Dixon, 62 and from Walsall, was heading to choir practice in Dudley. She said: "I don't mind going out in the rain, if I have to get somewhere.

"However, I always make sure I wear a coat with a hood. You need to keep warm when the weather turns cold."

She added: "An umbrella is no good for me because I've got my hands full normally and they can blow away."

Nikita Costello, from Darlaston, was happy to brave the rain on a Sunday.

She said: "You cannot avoid the rain if you need to get something done. I've come to Walsall buy my boyfriend bits and bobs, he has come up from down south.

"If it is raining and cold though, I have to wear a decent coat with a hood attached. We certainly were not going to stay in and be put off by the weather."

Kirsty Haycock, from Stone Cross, braved the walk from the car to the shops to buy her son Kenzie Christmas presents, without a coat. 

She said: "I normally would wear a coat but I am in the car now. The rain don't put me off. We have come into Walsall to get nappies, Christmas gifts and other bits and bobs."

Callum Willis, 18, also from Stone Cross, said: "I am wearing my coat now, if you have a good coat with a hood then that is good enough for any weather."

One man who believes umbrellas are a shopper's best friend is Romeo Singh, from Bilston, who sells them from Prime Stores on Walsall High Street.

The 24-year-old said: "People still come out in the rain. However, there does not seem to be as many people when it was raining like this.

"We do obviously sell more umbrellas when the weather is bad. I've sold six or seven today alone."