Floods cause mayhem for drivers

Flooding brought chaos today as torrential rain left homes and businesses swamped, motorists trapped in cars and roads submerged under water.

See the region's floods in pictures below.

More than an inch of rain fell in some parts as gales of up to 76mph battered the region.

West Midlands Fire Service today described a hectic night and said the emergency switchboard had gone "berserk" with calls overnight.

Residents in Stourbridge were among the worst affected after their homes flooded for the third time in weeks when a nearby canal burst its banks.

Water from the Stourbridge Canal came cascading into homes in Rushall Close following a weekend of heavy downpours.

Fire crews were also forced to pump water into a drain near Mary Stevens Park in Stourbridge after a 50-yard stretch in Worcester Street flooded twice yesterday.

Geoff Cox, a firefighter based at Halesowen, said: "It went berserk for an hour-and-a-half from 7.30pm."

In other dramas, a tree came crashing down on Bridgnorth Road near Stourton at around 7.15pm, forcing police to block the route off to motorists.

Albrighton couple Kimberley Ruston, aged 39, and 43-year-old Andy Chatter were forced to scramble onto the roof of their Rover 25 after it became stuck in flood water.

The pair, from Lincroft, drove into waist-high waters in Station Road before being dragged from the car by firefighters.

Residents of flats in Wolverhampton today told how they fought a desperate battle armed with buckets, mops and brushes in a bid to stop their homes being flooded for the second time this year.

Five ground-floor apartments have been left under inches of water at the complex in Birmingham New Road, Lanesfield.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said it too had been "inundated" with calls about flash flooding, with floodwater preventing one of three engines reaching an emergency call-out to an oven fire at Abberley.

Downpours caused the Dick Brook to flood the Stourport to Abberley Road and a Santa's grotto being set up at the Bonded Warehouse in Canal Street, Stourbridge, was flooded after the River Stour burst its banks.

Two cars were also trapped on the flooded Broadwaters on the A449 main route from Kidderminster to Wolverhampton.

Floods affected the A451 road to Stourbridge, with two cars left stranded as drivers were forced to get out and wade through the water.

Roway Lane in Oldbury was badly affected and this morning still swamped under three inches of rain.

Motorists in Walsall also faced traffic chaos today caused by the flooding which has seen Bridgeman Street, a route into the town centre closed, and a car abandoned in a pool of water in Heath Road, Darlaston.

The River Penk burst its banks in Penkridge and fields were flooded alongside the River Sow at Radford Bank, Stafford.

By Victoria Nashnextpage

Cars go through floodwater at the bottom of Simms Lane in Netherton.nextpage

Reader Helen Smith sent in this picture of flooding at Rushall Close in Stourbridge.nextpage

A family of swans swim on flooded fields after heavy rain near the M6 at Penkridge.nextpage

Vehicles drive past a stranded car in flood waters across Heath Road, Darlaston.nextpage

An abandoned Ford Explorer sits in the ford on Furnace Grange Road, Trescott.nextpage

Flooding in Roway Lane, Oldbury.nextpage

Land off Radford Bank in Stafford turned into a lake after the heavy rain.nextpage

Buildings in Penkridge surrounded by flood water.nextpage

Flooding at the Bonded Warehouse, off Canal Street in Stourbridge.