Big clear-up as winds wreak havoc across Midlands

The clear-up after gale force winds wreaked havoc in the Midlands, ripping roofs from buildings and sending trees toppling, was into a second day today.

Commuters faced chaos on roads and railways as gusts reached around 60mph by midday yesterday.

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All trains were cancelled between Birmingham and Lichfield for almost 10 hours after a tree fell onto a train. The line was reopned by 8pm.

Motorists told of lucky escapes after narrow misses. Julie Foxley, 40, was driving along Tixall Road in Ingestre, Stafford, when a tree landed in the path of her car yesterday morning.

She said: "It was really scary. It was a massive tree, I escaped with my life." Elsewhere, bricks fell from the roof, railings buckled and debris flew across the street when part of a West Bromwich social club, undergoing a £1 million refurbishment, collapsed in the high winds.

Residents say the Millfields Social Club site is not safe after the bad weather caused part of the building site to collapse.

The busy A456 between Hagley and Halesowen was closed for about four hours after a tree started leaning towards the carriageway. The comuter route was shut towards Kidderminster until about 7pm when the tree was cut down.

The roof of a Wolverhampton dry cleaners came clean off in the gales at 2pm yesterday. Owner Maureen Smith and two members of staff were at Ultimate Dry Cleaners in Warstones Road, Warstones when disaster struck.

A large section of waterproof felt was lifted from the flat roof.

A rubbish lorry was blown over and litter strewn all over the M6 yesterday.

Large quantities of rubbish were blown across roads and onto the motorway below, causing havoc for motorists at junction 2 near Walsgrave.

Meanwhile three mature trees blew down in Walsall Arboretum and flamingos at Dudley Zoo have been taken indoors to keep them safe.