1 hour ago
1
A child and three firefighters were among those taken to hospital as several fires raged across the West Midlands, destroying homes and forcing dozens of residents to evacuate from their houses.
As the UK recorded its hottest day of the year, fire services in the region said they experienced extreme levels of demand on Thursday.
A huge blaze near Stourbridge Golf Course saw about 100 firefighters battling the fire which spread rapidly through dry grass and woodland, setting alight six homes.
Elsewhere in the region four homes were destroyed by fire in Stoke-on-Trent, a woman was seriously injured in a blaze in Castle Vale, Birmingham, and a major incident was declared because of a fire in Warwickshire.
The region's fire chief Simon Tuhill said there was extensive devastation while Prime Minister Andy Burnham said it was "awful" to see the impact on homes and communities and thanked firefighters tackling the blazes.
Burnham added: "My thoughts are with everyone affected, particularly those who have been injured or forced from their homes, and with the firefighters who have been taken to hospital.
"I'm in touch with local leaders like [West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker] and will be speaking to emergency services on the ground as they continue their response."
Parker described the large number of fires on Thursday as an "extremely worrying and fast-moving situation".
The fire in Stourbridge - which covered about 40 acres of land, including woodland - had "several points of origin", West Midlands Fire Service said.
Tuhill said the service's fire control team had dealt with thousands of 999 calls through the day, and added the fires were "one of the most significant" incidents the service had ever dealt with.
