Fallen tree blocks main road out of Wolverhampton

A large tree which fell more than 20ft down a bank and over a wall blocked a major road out of Wolverhampton.

The incident happened at 6.45pm yesterday on the A41 Tettenhall Road near its junction with Old Hill.

It meant traffic had to be diverted along Old Hill and Upper Street.

But a spokeswoman for West Midlands Fire Service said that no-one was injured.

Wolverhampton City Council contractors Acorn were on the scene with several vehicles to clear the tree at 10.45 last night.

The tree had ripped soil out of the ground as it plunged down the bank.

Barriers were set up at the road's junctions with Old Hill and Stockwell Road while the work was carried out.

A spokeswoman for traffic information company Inrix said the tree did not cause any serious traffic problems.

It is the second serious problem on roads in the area during the past few days.

After the flooding on Thursday a man was rescued by firefighters from his Vauxhall after water came up to his dashboard in Old Hill.

He was treated for shock but was not seriously hurt.

It came as June was confirmed as the wettest since records began, with double the average rain falling during the month.

Provisional figures showed the UK received 5.7in during June, beating the previous record of 5.4in seen in June 2007.

It is the second month this year to see record-breaking amounts of rain, after this April became the wettest in the records dating back more than a century to 1910.

June saw long, prolonged rainfall and short but exceptionally heavy showers, and ended with freak storms which battered areas of the Midlands and the North East.

The exceptional amount of rain caused floods in Wales and parts of England.