That brings to a close our coverage of the flooding in the West Midlands for today.

Here is a round-up of the main headlines of the day:

• There are at least seven flood warnings in place and many more flood alerts for the region, with more expected as river levels rise

• Flood water has flowed "like a river" through Ewyas Harold in Herefordshire
• Searches have been carried out in Redditch after a dog was washed away by the river there
• Flood barriers have gone up in Bewdley, Worcestershire and are due to be erected in Shrewsbury
• Rail services have been disrupted throughout the day with branches falling on lines
• In Staffordshire, the county council has received reports of more than 50 fallen trees

Gavin Kermack
Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

Ian Scott has been living in Bewdley since 1991 and remembers the town before it had any flood defences.

"It's really concerning when it does flood because it's not just the water, it's the mess," he said.

Mr Scott added he had a lot of sympathy for those whose homes were affected, because they'd often finish clearing up after one flood only for the water to come again.

Flood defences went up in the town earlier as river levels are expected to rise.

For your own safety please do not remove flood road closure signs or barriers and try to drive through, urges Herefordshire Council.

It says there are currently flood warnings in place for:

1. River Arrow at Eardisland, Kington and Pembridge
2. River Teme at Leintwardine and Walford
3. Dulas Brook at Ewyas Harold

There's also flood alerts for the River Wye, River Frome, River Lugg and River Leadon.

Hossi, the owner of the Mug House in Bewdley, said he was pleased to see the flood defences go up on Friday.

There has been some serious flooding around his pub in the past and he said: "You have to be positive, so hopefully it'll all be working and protect the town completely."

At the moment, he said river levels were not too high, but appreciated that could all change, adding: "Over the next couple of days we'll find out."

In Cheshire, the fire service has urged people to only call 999 with flood-related reports, if there is a risk to life.

It says it is receiving lots of calls about trees on roads, most of which can be dealt with by local councils.

The strong winds and heavy rain have been especially affecting the east of the county, says the service.

Khara Schrijvers, the landlady of the Royal Oak pub in Brandon, Warwickshire, has been speaking about the preparations she has made for flooding as Storm Claudia brings challenging weather to the region.

She has installed aluminium, custom-made gates, special manhole covers to stop water overflowing from the drains, and applied a liquid waterproof coating to the walls and floors of the cellar.

The pub suffered some serious flooding at the start of last year and she said it was better prepared this time.

In Staffordshire, the county council has received more than 50 reports of fallen trees as the storm sweeps through the county.

By early afternoon, the authority had received 55 reports of fallen trees and 43 reports about drains and flooding.

Highways crews are working "extremely hard" to keep Staffordshire moving, it says.

Image source, Staffordshire County Council

The flood barriers are up in Bewdley and according to Mark Lidderth,from the Environment Agency, they will make a "huge difference".

He said there was the obvious benefit to the properties close to the River Severn, but it was also important to keep open the road near to the bridge.

In previous years, before the barriers were brought in, Mr Lidderth remembered the route having to close, forcing motorists to use diversions.

Mr Lidderth was also asked about Tenbury Wells, a town which has been pushing for its own defences.

He said the Environment Agency was "very well aware of the risks that community faces from flooding" and said action plans were in place.

He urged people to keep up to date with the latest warnings and information it puts out.

Shropshire Council is one of a number of local authorities which has been busy unblocking drains and clearing away leaves and other debris.

This photo was taken in Baschurch earlier.

Image source, Shropshire Council

West Midlands Railway has now announced that all services on the Birmingham to Rugeley line have been suspended for the day.

It said some Birmingham to Walsall services would continue to run.

Earlier, it said it had been having problems with trees being blown on to track.

More from Gino Fulgoni in Ewyas Harold.

He said the fire service was at work there this afternoon, trying to pump the water out of buildings, adding that four or five homes were flooded.

He is preparing to set up makeshift flood defences at his pub, if the water rises another few inches.

Mr Fulgoni said: "It's just not fair that there are businesses that go through their whole trading life and they don't have to deal with this and we deal with it on a yearly basis it would seem.

"Something needs to be done."

Image source, Stormchaser

Here's a round-up of the main headlines on Friday:

• There are seven flood warnings and many more flood alerts for the region, with more expected as river levels rise

• Flood water has flowed "like a river" through Ewyas Harold in Herefordshire
• Rail services have been disrupted throughout the day with branches falling on lines
• Flood defences have gone up in Bewdley, and Shrewsbury will follow suit tomorrow
• Searches have been carried out in Redditch after a dog was washed away by the river there

Flood defences are due to go up in Shrewsbury amid an expectation the River Severn will rise.

Shropshire Council said work would be carried out on Saturday morning to erect the barriers in the Frankwell area, and as a result, the Frankwell and Riverside car parks would close.

The authority said the Julian's Friars car park might also have to shut.

Businesses in the town would remain open, it added, but advised people to walk, cycle or use the park and ride services instead of driving.

There is also a lane closure around Coleham Head to allow Severn Trent to set up pumps.

Telford and Wrekin Council said work would begin at 07:00 to install bungs in drains along the Wharfage in Ironbridge, to stop water rising up through them.

Here is some footage of the flood water flowing through Ewyas Harold in Herefordshire.

It was filmed by Rachael Fulgoni.

Gino Fulgoni, the landlord of the local pub, said people in the town were frustrated that this had happened again and some people had only just cleaned up after last year's flood.

It was "upsetting" to see the flood water wash into their homes, he said.

The Met Office warned earlier that the weather could disrupt travel and here we have photos of a fallen tree on Spark Terrace in Stoke-on-Trent.

Motorists have been warned to be careful on the roads today.

Earlier, a train hit a fallen tree on a line in Worcestershire, and West Midlands Railway put out this photo of a tree blocking track.

It said there were "multiple trees" blocking routes on the Snow Hill and Chase lines and there had been service cancellations as a result.

Where possible, it said, buses had been put on to replace affected trains.

Image source, West Midlands Railway

Tom Edwards
Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

We're seeing some serious flooding in Ewyas Harold in Herefordshire this afternoon.

Gino Fulgoni, the landlord at the Temple Bar Inn said the "only way in or out" was via a tractor.

There is a Flood Warning for the area and several homes are flooded, as well as the fish and chip shop.

Image source, Stormchaser

Mr Fulgoni said: "The road has turned into a river of about two, three feet and flowing as fast as a river would flow."

He said there was frustration in the village because flooding like this happens "more than it should" and some homes had only just cleared up the damage from the last flood.

Ellen Knight
Reporter, BBC Shropshire

Community First Responder Peter Daish has told us that while he's called on all year round, the weather conditions we are seeing at the moment "just make it worse".

We caught up with him in Much Wenlock in Shropshire and he told us he deals with everything from trips and falls to cardiac arrests.

He said the wet weather was likely to cause more accidents for him to deal with.

Explaining the importance of First Responders in rural areas he said: "The nearest hospital any way from here is eight miles, ambulance takes 15 to 20 minutes to get here, someone in cardiac arrest needs us within 10 minutes."

National Highways is now reporting delays of more than an hour on the A5 southbound, external as it approaches junction 10 of the M42.

It said this was due to reports of flooding and it was going to investigate.

There are also long delays on all other approaches to the roundabout, it said.

Dave Throup might be retired from the Environment Agency, but "Throuperman" as he is known, still seems to have an active interest in flooding.

He's noted on social media that a lot of rain has been falling into the River Avon catchment, and the flood warnings we've seen so far back that up.

There are currently four of them for the Avon and two for the River Vyrnwy, where it meets the River Severn.

We usually see flooding there when there has been heavy rain over Wales.

Image source, Environment Agency

Ellen Knight
Reporter, BBC Shropshire

Lisa Earles, the new manager of the Gaskell Arms in Much Wenlock, knew when she took the job there was a danger of flooding.

The pub suffered some serious flooding two years ago, but Ms Earles said it had been "not bad so far".

"Yesterday they came in and they did the dredging of the drains here and taking all the leaves and everything out of them and it seems to be flowing quite nicely," she said.