Storm Eunice: West Midlands Railway issues 'do not travel' warning

West Midlands Railway (WMR) has issued a "do not travel" warning for Friday amid concerns over Storm Eunice.

There will be a "significantly reduced" WMR service on Friday, but the operator says pre-booked tickets for the date are valid on Thursday and Saturday.

Storm Eunice is forecast to bring strong winds to the region, just two days after disruption by Storm Dudley.

Some West Midlands schools have decided to close on Friday as precautions are taken across the area.

It comes as The Met Office issued an amber weather warning locally, with a rare red one issued for the South West.

About 10 flood alerts are in place around the West Midlands. Flood barriers have already gone up in Bewdley and Shrewsbury, with the River Severn expected to peak on Saturday.

On Wednesday, Storm Dudley damaged the canopy above platforms at Wolverhampton railway station, causing delays and cancellations.

WMR said while services had resumed, the focus was now on Storm Eunice, leading to Friday's service reduction and complete service suspension on some routes.

At a briefing on the potential impacts of the weather, the Environment Agency and Met Office said they expected the biggest problems to be fallen trees and damage to buildings.

Herefordshire Council said it expected high winds between 08:00 GMT and 15:00 GMT on Friday, with the speed likely to be between 50 and 60mph but possibly reaching up to 80mph.

West Midlands Fire Service area commander, Alex Shapland, said Storm Dudley was a "hint of things to come". That storm left thousands of people in parts of the North East, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Lancashire without power.

He added people should only phone 999 when appropriate, with fallen trees that were not an imminent danger reported to the local council instead. If residents experienced a loss of power, he said, they should phone their utility company and not 999.

A tree that was brought down on the line between Birmingham Snow Hill and Whitlocks End stations on Wednesday is no longer causing disruption, National Rail said.

School closures include King Edward VI Five Ways in Birmingham, The Royal Grammar School in Worcester and Ashfield Park Primary School in Ross-on-Wye. Other school closures can be found online.

West Midlands Safari Park and Dudley Zoo and Castle will be closed on Friday.

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