Torrential rains cause havoc (From Wiltshire Times)

Torrential rains cause havoc

1:10pm Monday 15th December 2008 in News By Katie Adams

TORRENTIAL rain meant many other motorists were left stranded in their cars or had to make detours to get to their destinations on the weekend.

Wiltshire Police were called to several incidents including a call at 11.19am on Saturday to Bulkington near Trowbridge where flood water was being pushed up by cars into nearby houses.

On the A365 at Atworth a car was left abandoned in flood water and in Westbrook near Bromham, emergency services were called to recover a number of vehicles.

Wiltshire County Council, who were called to assist with flooding in the Bromham area, had run out of signs as a result of the large number of incidents.

However, a spokesman said they were able to take signs from a minor road and transfer them to the problem in Bromham as a warning for drivers.

A Wiltshire County Council spokesman said: "We appreciate the difficulties the local residents and people travelling through Wiltshire have had.

“ It would appear the majority of issues were caused by the large volume of rain that fell on Saturday, which ran off the fields and caused rivers to overflow, rather than any specific drainage issues.

"We will investigate any highway drainage problems as soon as we can to see if there is anything we can do, but it is likely the sheer amount of water was the major factor.

"Over the weekend we had up to 40 people helping with the floods, and their efforts were concentrated on reopening the major routes in the county as soon as possible. Work is continuing on the clear up operation."

Police also received a call at 12.07pm on Saturday to Bratton Road in Westbury and Yarnbrook Road was also closed as a result of high water levels.

However there were no reports of any injury as a result of the bad weather.

Wiltshire Police and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service released a joint statement on the day urging motorists to stay at home unless their journeys were essential.

A spokesman said shortly after 1pm on Saturday that the risk of continued flooding from rivers and water remained high over the following hours.

He said: “Do not drive through flood water unless necessary and only do so at a slow speed to avoid flooding of the vehicle engine.”

Other affected areas included the Portway estate and Fore Street playing fields in Warminster and Barton Farm Country Park in Bradford on Avon.

If you have any photos or reports of flooding email our newsdesk at wtimes@newswilts.co.uk