Drivers in 12-hour flood jams

Lines of traffic tailbacked 40 miles into the West Midlands as the region was battered by some of the worst July weather ever experienced.

Desperate motorists, who had set out on the roads despite warnings of extreme weather were forced to seek refuge in emergency centres.

Many reported spending up to 12 hours trapped on the carriageway without adequate food and water. The traffic was even higher than normal due to holidaymakers heading to the south west after schools broke up for the summer break yesterday.

Some, desperate to escape the gridlock on the southbound M5 near Worcester were seen making U-turns and driving the wrong way along the hard shoulder to the nearest slip road.

One woman gave birth this morning in the queue as she sought shelter in a caravan. She was helped by a midwife who was stuck in the jam just a few cars back.

Motorists abandoned their cars, leaving police with a logistical nightmare as they attempted to reopen the route today. Many passengers stuck on coaches on the motorway had earlier been forced to transfer from train stations after all southbound rail services from Birmingham were cancelled.

One motorist Brian Waite told how he remained stuck in his car on the M5 from mid evening yesterday until 5am this morning before parking up and wading through a flood.

"The volume of water that has come down is quite unbelievable. I have been driving for 45 years and I have never, ever seen anything like that," he said.

Police are warning people not to travel unless the journey is absolutely necassary.

There were 28 severe weather warnings still in place today for the Midlands. More than 30 flood warnings in the Midlands include the River Stour at Kinver and the River Penk from Coven to Stafford.

Localised flooding has caused problems in areas including Wollaston, Kinver, Penkridge, Wednesbury, Lye and Stourbridge. The Penk also burst its banks in Penkridge, and the flood plains off Radford Bank in Stafford have also risen.

People living in Kinver have been waking up to their homes filled with floodwater.

In Stourbridge, a factory was deluged with water after a nearby river burst its banks following hours of torrential rain.

Gallons of water poured into the factory floor at Control Heating Treatments, in Mears Coppice, Lye, rising to more than four feet in a matter of minutes.

Pershore in Worcestershire had the highest rainfall in the region overnight, with more than four inches - twice the monthly rainfall for July - falling in just a few hours.

Forecasters today warned of more rain to come over the next week.

More stories and pictures in tonight's Express & Star.