‘It’s due to climate’: the people of Stourbridge on the town’s wildfires

Thursday has been described by residents as ‘horrendous’, ‘distressing’ and ‘one of the scariest days of my life’

People in Stourbridge have described the fires that devastated more than a dozen homes as “horrendous” and “distressing”, with one describing blazes that surpassed the height of residential houses.

Multiple fires spread across the West Midlands on Thursday as temperatures reached record highs of 38.1C in the UK, during the country’s fifth consecutive heatwave.