Man and boy rescued from car near Stafford as warning issued over dangers of driving through floodwater

A man and teenage boy had to be freed by firefighters after becoming trapped in a car near Stafford for about 45 minutes on Tuesday night.

Emergency services were called to the junction of the A51 and A518 at Vicarage Bank, Weston, just before 9.15pm.

The car was stuck in floodwater, with water in the vehicle up to the seats.

The man and boy were both assessed and discharged at the scene.

Elsewhere, a car was taken away by water and wedged under a bridge while crossing a ford in Hall Green, Birmingham.

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to the junction of Green Road and Sarehole Road at 4.25pm on Tuesday.

A passer-by managed to get a mother and her three-year-old daughter out of the car and they were assessed by paramedics and discharged at the scene.

Crews were also called to reports of a car stuck in floodwater in Houndsfield Lane, Hollywood, Birmingham, just before 5.20pm.

They discovered a car filling with water but no one was inside.

A man who managed to get out was assessed and taken to the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch as a precaution.

Just before 10.30pm on Tuesday, an ambulance came across a car that had rolled over in floodwater in Bishops Frome, Worcestershire, and was partly submerged in a stream. No one was found to be in the vehicle.

Ben Pallante, hazardous area response team manager at West Midlands Ambulance Service, said: “The first thing to do in heavy rain is consider whether you actually need to be out driving.

“If it is necessary then the simple advice is that you should not drive into floodwater that’s more than 10cm (four inches) deep.

“You should be particularly careful when using fords during heavy rain, such as we have seen in the last couple of days, as they can become very dangerous.

"Fast-moving water is very powerful and can quickly sweep your car off the road in depths of only 30cm.

“Also, remember that the Highway Code states that stopping distances will be at least double in wet weather, because your tyres will have less grip on the road.

“If you can’t avoid driving through water, do so slowly, but if possible find an alternative route.”

Meanwhile, Staffordshire County Council has closed the northbound A34 Stone Road in Meaford to traffic.

It is closed from its junction with the A51 Darlaston roundabout to Chase Lane, for 21 days.

The notice has been issued because of the likelihood of danger to the public due to flooding.

Having received over 150 emergency calls on Tuesday alone, crews are also dealing with fallen trees and debris blocking roads and footpaths in Staffordshire.

The A5 between the A449 and the A41 roundabout near Weston Park has also been closed due to flooding.

In other parts of the county, Heathhouse Lane in Codsall, Cannock Road in Burntwood and Lime Lane in Norton Canes has closed to motorists.

The subway at Mill Street in Cannock has also been closed due to flooding.

Highways bosses are now urging people to take extra care on the roads and allow more time for their journeys.

David Williams, Staffordshire County Council’s highways chief, said: “We’ve seen some very heavy rain and difficult driving conditions over the last few days and our highways crews remain out in force tackling the effects of surface flooding on many of our roads.

“With more rain expected over the next few days and temperatures expected to drop towards the end of the week I’d like to remind people who need to travel to please take extra care.

"People should slow down, leave plenty of room between themselves and the car in front of them and drive to the conditions. I’d also ask people not to drive through any flooded sections of road as you can never be sure about how deep the water is.”

People should report any highways issues on the MyStaffs App or at staffordshire.gov.uk