Birmingham mosque and house roofs blown off in strong winds

The roofs of a mosque and a house have been blown off in Birmingham during strong winds.

Fire crews were called to Evelyn Road in Sparkhill after the roof was lifted off the two-storey building. No-one was injured.

Police said there were also no injuries when a roof came off a house in Bordesley Green.

In Woolaston, a teenage girl was left with serious head injuries after being hit by a falling tree.

Cars stuck

The Met Office earlier issued an amber warning for wet and windy weather across the West Midlands.

There were reports flooding had left cars stuck on parts of the A38 between Longbridge and Rubery, in Worcestershire.

London Midland said it had suspended services on the cross city line south, between Birmingham and Redditch, due to an overhead line problem at Kings Norton, although trains were still running between Birmingham and Lichfield.

Services between Cheltenham Spa and Birmingham New Street were also affected.

Chiltern Railways reported rush hour problems on the line between Lapworth and Solihull because of "poor rail conditions".

It said trains faced delays of up to 25 minutes.

Evelyn Road was cordoned off as the mosque was made safe

In Blake Lane, Bordesley Green, a roof blew off a house.

Police said the road was closed near the junction with Yardley Green Road.

In Sparkhill, Evelyn Road was cordoned off as engineers worked to make the Jamia Abdullah Bin Masoud mosque safe.

Watch commander Terry Falaschi, of West Midlands Fire Service, said the roof, which measured about 50 sq m (540 sq ft), blew off into the road directly in front of it.

He said: "It blew down and hit three cars underneath it.

"Given the time of day, it was very lucky no-one was hurt. No-one was inside the mosque at the time, no-one was inside the cars and luckily no-one was driving or walking past either."

Ambulance crews were called at 15:50 GMT to help two teenage girls who had been hit by a falling tree in Woolaston High Street.

One girl suffered a serious head injury, while the other injured her shoulder. Both were taken to Russells Hall Hospital.

'Weather window'

In Perry Barr, Birmingham, ambulance crews were sent at about 15:00 to help an elderly man who was hit by branches from a falling tree in College Road while he was walking his dog.

Paramedics said the tree had fallen across the pavement and road, taking a lamp-post with it. The man suffered a cut to his head and did not require hospital treatment.

Environment Agency workers spent the early part of Thursday clearing river blockages ahead of expected heavy rain and strong winds gusting up to 60mph.

Dave Throup, of the Environment Agency, said the "weather window" of dry, calm weather had given staff the chance to prepare for later.

In Perry Barr an elderly man was hit by branches from a falling tree

He said surface water would quickly find its way into rivers which had not yet had a chance to recover from rain over the last few days.

Midlands Today weather forecaster Shefali Oza said heavy rain was expected to continue overnight, moving eastwards across the region.

She said winds were expected to die down and Friday was expected to be a much drier and calmer day.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service urged motorists to take care.

They added: "With more heavy rain and strong winds expected, members of the public are asked to stay safe and be extra vigilant."

Fire crews were called to Corngreaves Road in Cradley Heath on Wednesday after motorists became trapped in 1m (3ft) of water.

Gail Whittle, who lives on the road, said it had been "chaos".

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: "Please take care if you are making any journeys this evening, wet and windy conditions are making some areas and roads treacherous."