THE occupants of the Halesowen house which had its roof ripped off by gale force winds have spoken of the moment they were left roofless.

John Horton was in his Melbourne Road home with his partner and child when the storm hit yesterday (Wednesday) at 5pm.

He said: "There was a massive gush of wind and the whole house rocked.

"We just thought it was the storm and it had passed until a neighbour came over and told us the roof had been blown off."

He added: "I could not believe it when I went outside and saw all the felt and the roof strewn across the road.

"It had damaged some of the neighbours cars but it is really lucky that no-one was hurt AND it would have been especially dangerous if children had been playing out as they had been."

Work is already underway to secure the flat roofed property before the rain returns.

Mr Horton added: "Scaffolding is being put up now and we hope to have protection before it rains again as we are exposed."

Neighbour Dorothy Knowles witnessed the roof being blown down the street.

She said: “We were having in the sitting room and then saw a roof blowing across the street.

“The entire roof has been ripped from the building and it was a miracle no-one was hurt.”

The Met Office has predicted heavy rain for tomorrow (Friday).