Mayhem for motorists as routes are flooded

Forecasters were today warning of heavy rain later this week as parts of the country continue to deal with the aftermath of flooding over Christmas.

Standing water was a problem on roads in the area with firefighters called upon to help clear flooded routes.

Fire crews spent more than an hour pumping water from a flooded road outside their own station.

Rain water had been building up at the roundabout which joins Alexandra Road with Upper Church Lane in Tipton. On Saturday it submerged half of the road prompting the local fire crew to act. Five crew members from the on-duty red watch worked to pump water from one drain which had been blocked to another.

Crew commander Luke Handley said: "The water had been building up and eventually it was causing a hazard by blocking half of the road around the island. It was limiting access to the island for cars in all directions."

He added: "We cleared the drain and pumped the water into another drain. We also cleared a lot of the debris. It looks like it has done the job but I don't know if it will stay like that if we get more rain." Swollen rivers were being monitored by the Environment Agency concerned by 'spells of persistent and heavy rain'.

Water levels in the River Severn through Worcestershire including Bewdley were among those to be looked at with flood warnings in place.

Chris Hogan, a forecaster for MeteoGroup, said: "Be aware that some local disruption from surface water and river flooding looks likely.

"While these amounts of rain wouldn't usually lead to many impacts, given the saturated nature of the ground there is a greater risk of localised surface water flooding that might normally be expected."