...as fierce storms cause f lash f lood chaos down south
HEAVY thunderstorms caused devastation in England over the bank holiday weekend as parts of the country were hit by a month’s worth of rain in an hour.
Flash floods saw roads submerged in water and firefighters were called to rescue those trapped in cars and houses – some of whom had to be taken away in boats.
A pensioner in his eighties died after being pulled out of his van which had been caught in a flood in Birmingham.
Temperatures yesterday peaked at 79.5F (26.4C) and other areas of the country saw warm sunshine.
However, forecasters said there will be no let-up to the downpours – and there may be more thunderstorms on the way.
A month’s rainfall hit parts of Birmingham in just one hour on Sunday afternoon, leaving a major route into the city impassable with 5ft of water.
Winterbourne in Edgbaston recorded 58mm (2.25ins) of rainfall in just one hour. The average rainfall in the West Midlands for the entire month of May is 55mm (2.16 ins).
The man who died in the flooding had become submerged in a van in Rushall, West Midlands, at 2am yesterday.
He was rescued by emergency services and taken to hospital but later pronounced dead.
A resident desperately tried to rescue the victim by diving into the flood water and he tried to break the window of the vehicle with a hammer.
Mother-of-two Kirinna Johnson, 26, said: ‘One of our neighbours dived in when he saw the van get stuck.
‘He said he saw the driver open the door and try to push the van but the water was too deep. When that failed, he got back in and tried to reverse out. A council worker, who had just dropped off some sandbags, waded in too. They shouted for a hammer and tried to break a window.
‘But by the time help arrived [the elderly man] had been in the water for five minutes.’
People had to be pulled to safety from homes in part of Birmingham amid the flash flooding, including one who was rescued by boat.
The area is set to benefit from £2.7million flood defences but they had not been completed in time for the heavy rain.
Support worker Thomas Mellett, 39, of Selly Park, Birmingham, said: ‘My brother couldn’t get out and the fire brigade came with a boat to get him out. They wheeled him out of the front door then put him on a raft to get him to the ambulance.’
Torrential rain and multiple lightning strikes also created mayhem in Milton Keynes.
Almost a dozen people had to be rescued from flood-swamped cars in the Buckinghamshire town, while emergency services received 200 calls from people caught in flash floods.
Further flooding is ‘a possibility’, say Met Office forecasters.
‘Came with a boat to get him out’