Dog swept away in river torrent as storms hit

Bonnie was swept away by fast-flowing water in the River Arrow on Wednesday

A search is underway for a dog who was swept away when she jumped into a higher than usual river in chase of her stick.

Her owner, AJ Abrar, had to be rescued by emergency services when he went into the water to help four-year-old Bonnie at Arrow Country Park in Redditch, Worcestershire, on Wednesday. He had managed to catch hold of her but had to let her go to save himself, he said.

Heavy rain affected parts of the West Midlands this week with several flood alerts being issued and rivers being higher than usual. There was more rain on Friday morning along with an amber weather warning taking effect later.

Rail services have been affected and seven schools in Herefordshire are shut.

Mr Abrar said he had managed to cling onto a large log in the river but he had been eventually forced to let go of the dog to stop himself from drowning.

Four-year-old mixbreed Bonnie was a strong swimmer, he said, and had often jumped in the river there to chase sticks he threw when the water levels were lower.

A passer-by rang the emergency services who helped him out and he said a search team was planning to help him look for his missing dog over the weekend.

"We're going to go look for a body, or anything, whatever we can find, and start searching until we can bring her home," he said.

People were out searching on Friday, and were trying not to lose hope, he said.

"She was an amazing dog, she was a TikTok star," he added.

Flood defences went up on Beales Corner and Severnside in Bewdley on Thursday

Flood defences have been installed along the River Wye in Hereford and pumps are being installed in Worcester

Flood defences are already up on Beales Corner and Severnside in Bewdley, with Hylton Road in Worcester due to close from 18:30 GMT to allow flood pumps to be installed.

The Met Office said fast flowing or deep flood water was likely, causing a danger to life, and drivers are advised to avoid going through standing water.

On the trains, there will be no West Midlands Railway service between Birmingham New Street and Worcester or Hereford, and due to the forecast weather conditions bosses added they are unable to operate buses to replace affected services.

There were reduced services on the Cross City Line from Lichfield Trent Valley and Birmingham New Street to Redditch and Bromsgrove, with two trains per hour operating on this route throughout the day.

Volunteers at Herefordshire's 4x4 response team said they would be on standby for the next 48 hours.

Herefordshire Council said it had liaised with the Met Office and Environment Agency, and was deploying extra staff across the county for the whole of the weekend to deal with issues on the roads.

People were reminded not to drive past road closed signs, and advised that driving through flood water could also impact surrounding properties.