Driver rescued amid city flood warnings

Alice Cullinane - BBC News, West Midlands

Drivers have been rescued and schools are shut as floodwaters continue to rise in Birmingham.

Edgbaston, Stirchley and Bournville are expected to be hit and fire crews had to pull a driver to safety after his BMW became submerged up to the bonnet.

Flood alerts have also been issued in Tipton and Walsall, the Environment Agency said.

On Thursday, pupils at a school in Kings Norton faced a deluge of water coming into the building just as they were trying to leave for the day.

On Thursday night, a car was abandoned on the A449 in Stourbridge, as waters rose.

Police in Birmingham have also issued a warning to drivers to be cautious in flooded areas after the rescue of the BMW driver in Hall Green, on Thursday evening.

No-one was injured during the rescue, the West Midlands force confirmed.

Water gushing down the steps of the school, from a grassed area - there is a gritter salt box on the right
Water was seen pouring into the school, which meant students could not open the doors as they were leaving on Thursday afternoon [St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School]
A man cleaning up water from the corridors of the school
St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School spent time clearing out water from the school [St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School]

After a major clean-up operation by staff, St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Kings Norton, is opening as normal after water poured into the building on Thursday as lessons finished.

Head teacher Chris Martin said rising waters left students unable to open the doors as a "torrent of water" ran through the playground.

He praised his students for helping divert drivers to stop them getting stuck in the flood, with parents later ringing the school to thank them for their efforts.

Mr Martin told BBC Radio WM that in his 20 years of teaching he had never seen anything like it.

In other areas though, there are schools that are not opening, including:

  • Victoria School in Northfield

  • Longwill School in Bell Hill

  • Bournville School in Bournville

  • Fisher Catholic School in West Heath

  • St Brigid's Catholic Primary School in Northfield

  • St Laurence Church Junior School in Northfield

Roxanne Grogan wearing a beige coat holding a box with a dehumidifier inside the school building
Resident Roxanne Grogan brought in a dehumidifier to help the school [BBC]

Head teacher Andy Murphy, from St Laurence Church Junior School, also said he had "never seen the pure volume of water" that was gushing through classrooms and corridors. like it did on Thursday.

Pupils had to be moved upstairs as water poured in, with staff making sandbags out of the grit in an attempt to stem the flow.

Mr Murphy said the school's boilers had become submerged in the deluge and has issued an appeal for dehumidifiers and heaters to be delivered, to help them in the drying out operation.

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