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School shut and fireworks event off as pipe bursts

BBC A yellow digger next to a large hole in the road. There is grey rubble around the hole and there are four workers wearing orange high-vis jackets standing on the pavement. There is a residential street with houses in the background.BBC
South Staffs Water said it was working to fix the burst main in Bloxwich with workers digging to expose the pipe

A primary school has closed, a fireworks event has been cancelled and some homes are without water after a water pipe burst.

Firefighters were called to the burst on Stafford Road, Bloxwich, at about 04:30 GMT on Monday.

It was the third such incident for South Staffs Water in the Black Country in recent days with the water company also tackling burst mains in Wednesbury and Tipton over the weekend.

The company said it was working to fix the Bloxwich pipe, with teams digging to expose the underground issue, and it apologised for the inconvenience caused to homes and businesses.

Staff at Landywood Primary School in Great Wyrley said it would have to close on Monday because it had no running water.

“This has all happened at 05:00 this morning and, after two and a half hours, we still have no water,” headmaster Andrew Clewer said on the school’s Facebook page.

He added the lack of water meant meals could not be cooked and toilets could not be flushed.

Walsall Council A flooded park on a cloudy day. There is a large area of flood-water in the foreground and a rugby pitch in the background. Black and white bollards can be seen sticking up out of the water.Walsall Council
Walsall Council said the burst water main was near the entrance to the King George V Playing Fields in Bloxwich

Walsall Council said its fireworks display, due to take place at Bloxwich’s King George V Playing Field on Tuesday, would be cancelled due to flooding from the burst main at the park's main entrance.

Councillor Gary Flint said it would not be safe to hold the event, adding tickets would be refunded.

South Staffs Water said properties in Bloxwich, Norton Canes, Great Wyrley, and Cannock could lose their water supply at times or see low pressure and it expected full supply would start to be restored towards the end of Monday evening.

It added that a water collection point had been set up in a car park of the McArthurGlen outlet store in Cannock and it had also been delivering water to people who were deemed to be priority cases.

West Midlands Fire Service A church building with a red-beamed roof with water up to the front door and a red fire service boat with three firefighters by the doorWest Midlands Fire Service
Lea Brook Methodist Church was severely damaged by flooding after a water main burst in Wednesbury at the weekend

In a separate incident on Saturday, Leabrook Road North in Wednesbury was completely flooded when a main burst affected the water and power supply to hundreds of homes.

Lea Brook Methodist Church was also severely damaged by the flooding.

Ian Palfreyman, a member of the church, was at the site on Monday and said fixing the damage would be “a big job”.

He added computers had been ruined and the kitchen was a mess after two feet (0.6m) of water had flooded the church.

A man in a blue waterproof jacket stands in front of a black iron gate. The gate is partly open and the man is leaning on the open section. There is a building with a wooden door in the background.
Ian Palfreyman said repairs at Lea Brook Methodist Church would be a big job

The church will hold its Sunday service remotely next weekend and has relocated a fitness class and a craft session to New Road Methodist Church in Tipton.

Mr Palfreyman said it took almost a year for the church to fully reopen after similar flooding six years ago but he hoped repairs would be swifter this time.

“If you’ve done it once, you can do it again,” he said.

“When the church is determined to rise again – it’s a resurrection story really.”

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