Kamshi Ahmed
Drivers have been rescued and schools are shut as floodwaters continue to rise in Birmingham.
Edgbaston, Stirchley and Bournville are expected to be hit and fire crews had to pull a driver to safety after his BMW became submerged up to the bonnet.
Bus and rail routes have been disrupted in the city because of the floods, which have also prompted alerts in Tipton and Walsall.
On Thursday, pupils at a school in Kings Norton faced a deluge of water coming into the building just as they were trying to leave for the day.
A car had to be abandoned on the A449 in Stourbridge on Thursday, as waters rose.
Trains cancelled
Police in Birmingham have also issued a warning to drivers to be cautious in flooded areas after the rescue of the BMW driver in Hall Green,
A series of trains from Birmingham and London Marylebone have been cancelled because of the weather between Banbury and Bicester North.
Other providers are accepting tickets at no extra cost, including Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and Great Western Railway.
National Rail said disruption was expected until 15:00 BST and replacement transport had been requested.
A few NX West Midlands bus routes have also been diverted, including numbers 27, 28, 76, 79 and 3.
No-one was injured during the rescue, the West Midlands force confirmed.
A driver had to be rescued from his BMW after it became submerged up to its bonnet in Hall Green, on Thursday evening
Drivers have been rescued and schools are shut as floodwaters continue to rise in Birmingham.
Edgbaston, Stirchley and Bournville are expected to be hit and fire crews had to pull a driver to safety after his BMW became submerged up to the bonnet.
Bus and rail routes have been disrupted in the city because of the floods, which have also prompted alerts in Tipton and Walsall.
On Thursday, pupils at a school in Kings Norton faced a deluge of water coming into the building just as they were trying to leave for the day.
A car had to be abandoned on the A449 in Stourbridge on Thursday, as waters rose.
Trains cancelled
Police in Birmingham have also issued a warning to drivers to be cautious in flooded areas after the rescue of the BMW driver in Hall Green,
A series of trains from Birmingham and London Marylebone have been cancelled because of the weather between Banbury and Bicester North.
Other providers are accepting tickets at no extra cost, including Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry and Great Western Railway.
National Rail said disruption was expected until 15:00 BST and replacement transport had been requested.
A few NX West Midlands bus routes have also been diverted, including numbers 27, 28, 76, 79 and 3.
David Spruce A black car submerged in water with queues of cars in the backgroundDavid Spruce
A car was left stranded on the A449 in Stourbridge
No-one was injured during the rescue, the West Midlands force confirmed.
St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School Water gushing down the steps of the school, from a grassed area – there is a gritter salt box on the rightSt Thomas Aquinas Catholic School
Water was seen pouring into the school, which meant students could not open the doors as they were leaving on Thursday afternoon
With schools across the city shut one, St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Kings Norton, has opened as normal, following a major clean-up operation by staff, prompted when water poured into the building as lessons finished on Thursday.
Head teacher Chris Martin said rising waters left students unable to open the doors as a “torrent of water” ran through the playground.
He praised his students for helping divert drivers to stop them getting stuck in the flood, with parents later ringing the school to thank them for their efforts.
Mr Martin told Radio WM that in his 20 years of teaching he had never seen anything like it.
In other areas though, there are schools that are not opening, including:
Victoria School in Northfield
Longwill School in Bell Hill
Bournville School in Bournville
Fisher Catholic School in West Heath
St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School in Northfield
St Laurence Church Junior School in Northfield
Head teacher Andy Murphy, from St Laurence Church Junior School, also said he had “never seen the pure volume of water” that was gushing through classrooms and corridors. like it did on Thursday.
Pupils had to be moved upstairs as water poured in, with staff making sandbags out of the grit in an attempt to stem the flow.
Mr Murphy said the school’s boilers had become submerged in the deluge and has issued an appeal for dehumidifiers and heaters to be delivered, to help them in the drying out operation.
Parent Roxanne Grogan said “it was only fair to help out” when she saw the school’s appeal for dehumidifiers
In Walsall, one driver was unable to get to work after his car broke down as he tried to drive through floodwater in Crook Lane.
Matt Woodhouse, of Brownhills, told Radio WM he was waiting for an hour in the rain for the AA to reach him.
“I got through [the floodwater] and then on the other side of it my car’s just cut out and I could smell burning.
“It smells like the water has got into the electrics somewhere.”
The panel builder joked that if he had had his tools he could have fixed the problem.
“I’ve booked the rest of the day off and, hopefully, it’ll be fine and back to work on Monday,” Mr Woodhouse added.
