Clean up continues as locals take stock of damage caused by Wednesbury flood

Crews from South Staffs Water and West Midlands Fire Servicewere working at the scene on Leabrook Road to clear the area of remaining flood water and also fix the pipe and road where the pipe burst.

The incident on Saturday saw high levels of floodwater on Leabrook Road North and Leabrook Road after the burst pipe, with around 700 homes in the surrounding area left without water and electricity.

By Monday morning, electricity and water supplies had been restored to homes and businesses, but the after effects of the flooding were still very visible on Leabrook Road North, with large areas of mud and dirt on the road and the drives of houses.

The road had remained closed to incoming traffic while the crews worked at the scene, with water seen flowing down the road from hoses set up by the fire service.

Residents on the road spoke of seeing floodwater on their drives and having to move their cars and said how it had been the second time in six years that the street had flooded from a burst pipe, following an incident in 2018 where a workman accidently burst a pipe.

The damage caused by the flooding was most visible at Leabrook Methodist Church, where the water level was seen to have come up to the top of the stone plaques on the outside of the church.

Inside, the scenes of devastation were everywhere, with the carpets a mixture of brown and blue, chairs also covered in brown on the back and all rooms within the building showing signs of flood damage.

Senior steward and treasurer Malcolm Freeman described how he found out about the flooding and spoke of the devastating effect on the church.

He said: "I got a phone call on Saturday morning at 8am from one of our neighbours to say there had been a flood at the church and, at the time, you think it's going to be something minor and, maybe, it has just been a pipe that had leaked a bit.

"However, when I got down and I saw the devastation, you could have cried as you see all the work you've done over the years being ruined as the same thing had happened six years ago when a mains pipe burst and flooded all the way through the church."

Mr Freeman said the whole church had been affected by the flooding, from the main church to the hall at the back, the kitchen and offices, with everything being underwater, but said that the church was already thinking about getting back to serving the community.

He said: "The main aim now is to get us back and get the building back as we need to serve our local community because of all the activities that we do with them, from a warm hub for older people, exercise and movement classes and the Rainbows and Brownies.

"The Christian church talks a lot about resurrection and that's what we're doing right now and we're going to resurrect this church and I had one of the ladies from the local community come and ask me if we were going to close the church and after I said no, she gave me a big hug as this building is so important to them.

"It's also really important that we continue our worship in the church and while the building is going to be out of commission for a while, we will make sure the church stays together by doing worship every Sunday on Zoom."

Mr Freeman also praised West Midlands Fire Service, saying that the crews had done an amazing job and looked after the local residents, a sentiment which was one shared by other residents on Leabrook Road North.

One resident, who didn't want to be named, said she'd seen the water go up to the second set of steps at her house and said it brought back memories of the flooding in 2018.

She said: "My neighbour knocked on the door and said I should move my car because the water was already at the bottom of my drive and I just remember thinking 'Oh no, not again' because of what happened six years ago when a workman burst a pipe while working near the church.

"I think we're all experienced around here with what to do, but we'd rather not have to as you see all the rubbish and dirt that gets left behind and while we've managed to get all the mess off our drives, there's so much mess still left around here.

"The fire service were very good as they did what they could to stop it at the time and have worked to try and sort it, so they were brilliant."

Dharminder Singh said he had also been alerted by a neighbour about the flooding and needing to get his car out of the way and described what he had seen.

He said: "We got a knock on the door and we were told about what was happening and to move our cars as far away as we could.

"After that, we saw the fire brigade get here and they were working hard to hold the situation and we didn't have any water or electricity for a while because of what was going on, but they controlled the situation and we've got everything back now.

"It's the first time I've seen anything like this as I only moved here two years ago, but my neighbours have told me about what had happened before and what's important now is that everyone is ok and we're past the worst of this."

Members of West Midlands Fire Service were still down at the scene coordinating with South Staffs Water and ensuring the area was safe.

Group commander Alex Shapland had been part of the response to the incident, working with the local teams to ensure the incident was dealt with as quickly and efficiently as possible.

He offered praise to the teams who had responded to the incident and also said that lessons could be learnt from what had happened.

He said: "I'd like to thank all of the responders who were here or were working off site as I recognise that flooding can be absolutely devastating for individuals and the communities.

"The focus from the fire service on Saturday was to reduce the water levels, which we did by using some really large pumping units and dispersing the water back into the canal to allow the utility companies to bring the utilities back online, so there was a real concerted effort to support the community.

"I'm led to believe there was a similar significant leak about six years ago and there's lessons to be learned from every incident, especially when it's something which could be easily avoidable.

"I'm sure we'll come together as a local resilience forum of responders, which includes the utility companies, and there will be a debrief and if there are lessons to be learned, they will be put forward."