Kinver

The water main burst that flooded streets in Tipton on Tuesday morning appears to have been in a different spot to the one last October, South Staffs Water has said.

The company has been carrying out investigations to find out what caused the leak, to prevent it happening again, and said it had been limited in how close it could get.

BBC

It is also replacing a 300m section of pipe and has apologised to people living in the area and for the effect the work was having on traffic.

We have today been able to get a first look at the burst area. We believe the burst is a separate burst to the one we experienced last year

Here are three of the stories from the Shropshire Star today:

• Restaurant owner guilty of causing death by dangerous driving
• M54 and M6 link road plans submitted
• Shrewsbury MP criticised by Jewish leaders

West Midlands Police has now arrested 1,090 people on suspicion of domestic abuse since the start of 2020.

West Midlands Police

The force is targeting domestic abuse in an intensive campaign and said it had detained suspects for offences ranging "from nasty assaults to bullying behaviour, harassment and breaches of restraining orders".

Among its latest arrests are a man from Coventry who allegedly held a hot iron to his partner's face, and another man from Netherton accused of biting a woman's ear in an attack on Christmas Day.

“Every day we are tracing and arresting people who are accused of domestic violence and abuse.

"Not just physical abuse, but also emotional, psychological, verbal and financial abuse," West Midlands Police Supt Sally Simpson said.

It's a foggy and misty start to Wednesday across the West Midlands but that should lift over the morning for a bright afternoon.

It's going to start to change though, and a yellow weather warning is already in place for high winds that are due to develop ahead of the weekend.

South Staffs Water will carry out tests to find out what caused this morning's pipe burst.

It happened at the same house that was badly affected by flooding in October and Andrew Lobley, its director of operations, said an examination of the pipe had then found it was in good condition, but had suffered "surface damage".

BBC

Mr Lobley said his team hadn't been able to excavate the main yet, but would carry out a similar examination this time.

We cut out a section of the water main that failed, to understand exactly what had happened. We had that forensically analysed, it came back and said the main itself was in good condition, but there was a small area of surface damage to the top of the main and that was the root cause of the previous burst

Firefighters are still at the scene of the flooding in Tipton, helping clear up the mess.

But as you can see by this video, shot by local resident Helen Challis, it was like a fast-flowing river early this morning.

Local resident Helen Challis said she had been woken in the early hours to a "roar" from the burst water main in Tipton.

Helen Challis

"I was woken up by my husband just before five o'clock to say that 'it's happened again - the road's all flooded'.

"We opened the window and it was just like a roar - just the water running down the road."

Helen Challis

"[I've been] coming out to make sure everybody's OK. Just checking around the local area.

"I popped around the school to see if we could do anything there.

"The power's gone, the gas, the electricity, everything's gone," she added, "so we're a bit stuck at the minute, we can't really do anything."

About 50 firefighters were sent to deal with the flooding in Tipton at its height.

A water rescue boat was also sent, West Midlands fire service added.

Three properties in Severn Close were evacuated.

This video shared by the fire service shows water gushing from the burst main, which has caused one property to partially collapse.

About 170 properties are now without power in the Tipton area after a water main burst, followed by a gas leak, says Western Power Distribution.

Twitter / @originaldanray

It says it has had to turn power off in the area to isolate a lower voltage cable which could have been damaged in the flood water.

It currently has no estimate of when power could be restored.

Flooding in Tipton had already shut multiple roads and a school, with householders rescued overnight.

But there are new problems at the scene of the burst main. The fire service says a property caught up in the flooding has partially collapsed.

It adds there's also a gas main leak "impacting on this incident".

Here are images of the damaged property:

West Midlands Fire Service

About 150 houses have now been affected by flood water and a power cut, the fire service says.

West Midlands Fire Service

Water is now being cleared from the scene.

A multi-agency briefing is being held at the scene of a burst water main in Tipton, the fire service says.

West Midlands Fire Service

The incident began shortly before 04:40. About 150 properties fall within the flood area, with ten severely affected.

The fire service says it has six pumps in the area along with a rescue crew and high volume pump appliance.

West Midlands Police says it has officers on site supporting the fire service in traffic management. Multiple roads have been closed.

Flooded roads around a burst main in Tipton are expected to remain closed throughout the morning.

Park Lane West is affected between Owen Street and Mayfair Gardens.

West Midlands Fire Service

Manor Road, Hill Street, Bakers Street, Sherwood Avenue and Bush Road are also closed to traffic.

West Midlands Fire Service

Tipton Green Junior School has been closed as well, says Sandwell Council.

South Staffs Water said it is aware of the burst main and has engineers at the site.

It has apologised to affected customers.

About 100 properties are being affected by flood water after a main burst in Tipton.

Eight people had to be rescued from their homes overnight after firefighters were called to Park Lane West at about 04:40.

Ten properties have been severely affected, the fire service says.

It will be a clear and dry night with some cloud likely in the early hours with lows of 1C (34F).

BBC Weather Watchers/Jon

You can find a detailed weather forecast for your area on the BBC Weather site.

The footbridge leading to the Severn Valley Railway in Bridgnorth has been closed for up to five weeks for repairs.

Google

Shropshire Council engineers say the bolt anchorages failed two years ago - and although temporary repairs were done at the time - a more permanent fix is being carried out.

It will be a mostly clear and sunny day with highs of 10C (50F).

DJ Lauren Walters has a playlist of Big Ben's bongs and Rule Britannia for the stroke of 11:00 GMT, marking the UK's formal withdrawal from the EU.

"And then after that it's partying and celebrating Brexit."

BBC

Patrons at Sedgley Working Men's Club, in Dudley, will be joined on the dancefloor by former Brexit Party MEP Bill Etheridge - who even brought a cake to mark the celebrations.

"I'm excited," the former West Midlands representative said. "I think we're going to have a great future - free.

"We're going to be able to make our own rules, our own regulations - it's brilliant. There's a bright future ahead."

It will be a cloudy and misty night with the chance of showers and lows of 8C (46F).

Patchy rain should move away, leaving a brighter day tomorrow.

BBC Weather Watchers/Terry Eyre

You can find a detailed weather forecast for your area on the BBC Weather site.

A man has been seriously hurt after being hit by a bus in Dudley.

Part of Castle Street was closed after the incident on Wednesday afternoon.

The closure also affected Tower Street and New Street, police said.

It will be a cloudy day with some rain this afternoon and highs of 13C (55F).

The Health and Safety Executive says it's prosecuting two companies, following the death of a 45-year-old Bridgnorth man who died after an ammonia leak at a Carlsberg brewery in Northampton.

The leak from the site’s refrigeration system which killed David Chandler in November 2016 also seriously injured a 56-year-old man and another 22 needed hospital treatment.

Northamptonshire Police

The HSE said Carlsberg Supply Company and contractor Crowley Carbon UK Ltd would both face charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The first hearing is due to begin at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on 6 March.

It was a misty and murky start for many across the West Midlands, but that hasn't stopped the BBC Weather Watchers heading out to capture some lovely images.

These were taken in Sutton Coldfield by Sutton Walker; Leek, Staffordshire, by Videoman; and Rubery, Birmingham, by Lileth.

Sutton Walker

Videoman

Lileth

It will be a cloudy day with some patchy drizzle and highs of 12C (54F).

Demolition of a "town centre eyesore" is to take place within weeks, a council said.

Workers are moving on site at Cavendish House in Dudley after a plan was agreed by developer Avenbury and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) earlier this week.

Back in 2017, Stephanie Round asked what the future of the building was, after the seven-storey, 85,880 sq ft building was bought at auction by Avenbury Dudley Ltd for £800,000.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council

As well as Cavendish House, the former B&Q building, the former Rickshaw restaurant, a taxi office, a disused scout hut and the former Metro Bar pub will also be knocked down to pave the way for a £82 million retail and leisure development.

Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of the council, said:"[Cavendish House] has been a blot on the skyline of the town centre for far too long but today’s news is a symbol of the recovery and resurgence of Dudley."

Construction work on a new tram line will not commence today, it has been clarified.

The West Midlands Combined Authority and Dudley Council are marking a number of projects getting underway in early 2020 today, including the the VLR and Metro projects.

Preliminarly construction for the route has always been scheduled to commence in 2020, with the Midland Metro Alliance saying more details will be shared in the coming weeks.

We've seen all sorts of colourful photos from the BBC Weather Watchers today.

These ones were taken in Hallow, Clent and Clun.

Muffinn

StormchaserAl

Our view

Tonight will be cold and largely dry with long clear spells and lows of 0C (32F).

BBC Weather Watchers / AJthewalker

Wednesday will be dry and fine with long sunny spells and patchy cloud.

You can find a detailed weather forecast for your area on the BBC Weather site.

The new Bishop of Dudley will be ordained and consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury at a service at Southwark Cathedral in London today.

Church of England

Martin Gorick is a former chaplain to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon.

He will officially begin his ministry in the Diocese of Worcester next month.

As a Black Country bishop I look forward to the church playing its part in the regeneration of Britain’s heartland in the West Midlands, and to working in partnership with all people of good will.

Wintery showers and ice could lead to travel disruption in parts of the West Midlands, the Met Office is warning.

Met Office

A yellow warning is in place until 10:00 for Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Staffordshire.

It will be a chilly and breezy day with some bright spells and mainly dry with highs of 7C (45F).