Solihull flooding: M42 and homes deluged in thunderstorm

Homes and roads, including a section of motorway, were hit by flash flooding during a thunderstorm.

The Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) said standing water between junctions five and four of the M42 made travel unsafe on Friday night.

It was caused by a thunderstorm in the Solihull area of the West Midlands which struck at about 20:00 BST.

The motorway has since reopened, along with roads in the Dorridge area, which were also affected.

People living in the area said their homes had never flooded before and said the rain ripped up the road surface.

Resident Lee Morris said: "The kids shouted 'you've got to see this' and I went outside and saw the road was broken up from underneath cars and were stranded up to the wheel arches."

He described the scenes as "apocalyptic" and compared it to flooding he had seen in the United States during Hurricane Irma.

Anne Dickinson said the drainage system "just couldn't cope" and described how a team of residents tried to use wheelie bins to clear water out of homes and garages.

She said a number of garages had been flooded and people had tried to quickly rescue property contained inside them, but not all were successful.

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