Terror as girl gets stuck in drain

A terrified nine-year-old girl was trapped waist-deep in floodwater for two hours after her foot got stuck in a broken drain in the Black Country.

Courtney Corbett had to be rescued by firefighters after becoming trapped up to her knee in the grid in Waterloo Street, Tipton. It had been damaged, leaving a gaping hole hidden as the road flooded in a torrential storm.

See more flooding pictures here.

A 17-year-old boy drowned in similar circumstances after getting trapped in a storm drain in Oxfordshire during flash floods a year ago.

Mum Donna Horton, of Wellesley Drive, just yards from the accident spot, was alerted by her daughter's playmates banging on the door on Saturday night, and feared the worst.

The 35-year-old, who works at Gala Bingo in Wednesfield, said: "When they told me she'd fallen down the drain I thought she had gone right in, under the water. I just felt sick.

"I ran to her and immediately could see what had happened.

"Lots of the neighbours were out and trying to get her free, but she was stuck fast.

"She was cold and terrified and it was two hours before the emergency services could get rid of the water and free her."

Courtney, a pupil at Corpus Christi Primary School in Wolverhampton, said: "I just stepped off the kerb and felt my leg go under.

"It really really hurt and I started screaming and crying, loads of people came to try to get me out but I was stuck."

Firefighters had to pump the water from the road before they could cut her free.

Courtney suffered severe bruising to her leg and was given oxygen by paramedics.