Barriers up amid weather warning after damaging flood hits club
A clubhouse was left underwater around 1ft of water forcing events to be cancelled.
Flooding hit the home of Stafford Cricket and Hockey Club after torrential rain on Saturday.
All events have been cancelled until the end of November after the flooding.
Secretary Helen Paling went to the club at 8am on Sunday and saw the water damage.
She said: "I was down at about 8am and the entire club was about a foot under water.
"It's not usual, the access route normally gets a large puddle but it's the second time in my lifetime the facility has been flooded.
"The water level is dropping but there is still water in the club and the car park is still under water.
"The insurance company will need to come and do an assessment.
"A lot of the stock will have been damaged, the carpets, and furniture.
"We have a large facility room that was booked for several events, weddings, parties and things and we've had to cancel them all until the end of November.
"When we know how much repair work is likely we will review the situation.
"A fireworks night was due to take place this Sunday and we haven't yet decided if that will go ahead.
"It was quite sad to walk in and see the club under water, but it's one of those things.
"The nice thing was we posted an appeal for help from the club members and within half an hour we had 30 or 40 people come to help."
Flood barriers up
Flood warnings were in place across the West Midlands and Staffordshire after the area was hit by torrential rain.
Flood defences were up in Bewdley as the River Severn peaked yesterday.
The West Midlands and Staffordshire were some of the worst hit by the downpours, with roads completely blocked off, fields flooded, and businesses and homes at risk of water damage.
The Environment Agency issued multiple flood warnings and alerts across the area, focussing mostly on Staffordshire and the areas bordering the River Severn.
Chris Bainger from the Environment Agency said the barriers put up over the weekend were doing their job.
But he warned motorists not to attempt to drive through flood waters.
“You could put your lives and the lives of others at risk,” he said.
“Don’t be a victim of floods unlike some motorists who left cars in the car park, please be flood aware.”
In Stafford, the main road into the Doxey estate was completely blocked off by flood water – forcing residents to find alternative routes.
Cars had to be abandoned heavy rainfall gathered on low-lying roads across the region, leaving people stranded.
The St Thomas Bridge in Stafford had to be shut with police officers calling it “completely impassable”.
Elsewhere, in the Black Country, some residential roads had to be avoided due to floods.
Old Park Road in Wednesbury and Heath Road, Darlaston were both affected.
Residents took to social media urging drivers to stop trying to get their cars down the road, as the movement was just pushing water towards people’s front doors.
Firefighters worked around the clock over the weekend, helping those affected by the flooding by pumping out water and rescuing people and animals.
Flooding had also hit low-lying areas near Shugborough Estate in Stafford, with walkers forced to find another way through.
