Firefighters from the West Midlands have gone to Africa following a deadly storm.

A cyclone hit Malawi last week, leaving more than 250 people dead.

Now, West Midlands Fire Service has sent personnel over as part of the United Kingdom International Search and Rescue team response.

Wayne Brown, chief fire officer of West Midlands Fire Service, said: "Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the devastating cyclones that have swept across several countries.

"Just four weeks after our volunteers were part of the international response to the earthquakes in Turkey, they are once again preparing to help another nation in dire need.

"UK ISAR volunteers from the West Midlands will provide a Search and Rescue Flood Response. As always, we are extremely grateful to them for answering the call and they will receive all necessary support during their deployment.

“We will also be keenly focused on their health and wellbeing upon their return, having been involved in two deployments so close together.”

WMFS is among other UK fire and rescue services to have answered the call for international help, by sending a 27-person flood response.

The request for UK assistance from the Malawian government came after it declared a state of disaster in 10 southern districts, as Storm Freddy hit for a second time this month.

Around 88,000 people have been displaced in southern Malawi, with parts of the region still inaccessible.

To make matters worse, there was already a cholera outbreak going on in Malawi when Freddy ripped through the country.

As such, deaths from the disease and other water-borne illnesses are expected to rise.

“We’ve been without running water for the past four days and water will become contaminated,” said Andrew Mavala, executive director of the Malawi Network for Older Persons. “This is a huge concern.”

Hundreds of people have been moved to camps but food and clean water is still scarce, he added, with dozens of older people who do not know how they will recover.

“There’s a feeling that they’ve lived their lives and we must prioritise the young. But they must be helped and treated with dignity,” he said.