PARTS of the county have seen an inch of rain fall in an hour after a torrential rain storm.

Flash-flooding has caused problems across Worcestershire after a huge storm crawled across the county.

The fire brigade said they had taken 30 calls in Worcestershire, and a similar number in Herefordshire between 8.30am and 11.30am today.

In Worcestershire, these calls were mainly in the Bromsgrove and Rubery areas, although there were some calls from Worcester, Droitwich and Stourport-upon-Severn.

Firefighters from Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service have been dealing with people trapped in stranded vehicles, and in rescuing people from flooded homes.

Fast-water rescue boats from Hereford and Worcester joined fire crews from Hereford and Ross in Llanwarne following a call at 9.40am reporting a car stuck in floodwater.

Roads have also been badly affected, with several closures.

At Bransford near Worcester, the A4103 has been closed due to flooding, together with the A4133 at Ombersley, while the A38 in Wychbold and at Charford in Bromsgrove is also affected.

At Redditch, there was a lane closure on the ring road after reports part of a retaining wall had been collapsed by floodwater by the Lidl supermarket, near Staples.

In Bromsgrove, Broad Street was also reported closed, and Green Lane in Catshill shut.

Worcestershire County Council's highways department has deployed 40 officers to inspect manholes, and make sure gullies and drains are clearing.

Rural roads have also been hit, and manholes covers in Droitwich and elsewhere have been blown by the torrent of water, over-coming the drains system, posing a hazard to drivers and motorcyclists.

Drivers on the M5 have also faced extremely difficult driving conditions.

Jon Fraser, a council highways manager, said: "The extreme storms Worcestershire suffered earlier this morning have led to a number of instances of flash flooding on highways.

We've taken calls from across Worcestershire and would like to ask all motorists to take care and temper their driving according to the conditions.

"Additional staff are out and about doing all they can to help alleviate problems where they can.

We'd urge anyone that spots a problem to get in touch with us. [see below]

Paul Damari, Worcester News weatherman, said the storms were not unusual for this time of the year, but the worst was over for the moment.

"I measured 24.1 mm of rain in Worcester, so that's about an inch," he said.

"It's because it's been very humid, and the warmer atmosphere can carry more moisture.

"We had a storm in South Wales this morning, and that has set off more and more storms, heading north.

"Coupled with only a light south westerly wind, the storm when it came took a good few hours to travel over Herefordshire and Worcestershire."

He said the weather system had been localised, with Fladbury near Evesham suffering hardly any rainfall at all.

You can follow the latest updates on the weather on www.worcesternews.co.uk or on Twitter by following #worcsstorm

Meanwhile, the county council is calling for people to report problems on the roads as soon as possible, online via the 'Report It' at www.worcestershire.gov.uk or by calling the Worcestershire Hub on 0845 607 2005.

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