Villagers whose road was hit by flooding over Christmas have called for better maintenance of a stream running by their homes.

Flooding shut Perry’s Lane, Wroughton, on Christmas Eve. At its deepest the waters reached to knee-height.

Villagers are used to flooding along Devizes Road, near the Ellendune Centre, but it is said by residents to be almost a decade since Perry’s Lane was underwater.

The road, which joins Croft Road and Wharf Road, runs over a stream. The culvert spilled water over the road after heavy rain last weekend.

By yesterday lunchtime the water had subsided and council workers were using a high-pressure hose to clear any debris in the tunnel beneath Perry’s Lane.

But homeowners expressed frustration that it had apparently taken so long for the maintenance work to be done. One woman, 49, who asked not to be named, said: “The response now is fantastic but it didn’t need to happen.”

The woman, who has lived on Perry’s Lane for 13 years, added: “We need proper maintenance and we need as residents to be listened to.”

Her neighbour, a 72-year-old woman who asked not to be named, added: “I’ve been here 35 years and I’ve never seen the road like that.

“We’ve been asking for years to get the silt out of this river because we all end up getting flooded.

“The problem is everybody chucks their rubbish in the stream. They chuck wood and plastic in it. It all appears from nowhere. Then we end up with problems like this."

Writing on a village social media group, borough councillor Cathy Martyn said she hoped to arrange a meeting with the council, the Environment Agency, Thames Water and MP Robert Buckland in the new year to discuss the problem.

She wrote: “We are obviously very concerned to ensure this does not happen again in the future. In the meantime, I have asked Swindon Borough Council to get the drains cleared of any silt which has been deposited and to unblock any blocked drains, as soon as possible.”

The borough council said it had been too dangerous to clear the culvert on Christmas Eve but staff had removed silt, debris and vegetation as soon as the waters receded.

A spokesman said: "Following reports of water levels rising, council inspectors checked the drains and culverts around the area on Monday, December 23. We worked closely with the fire service on Christmas Eve when it became clear the culvert for the brook had become blocked during the heavy rain but it was too dangerous to attempt to clear it at the time.

"We closed the road for safety reasons and Council staff worked over the Christmas period to manage the situation including using sandbags to protect properties. Thankfully no homes have been damaged.

"As soon as the water receded our crews were out to clear all the drains that had become clogged with silt and debris from the flooding and we have removed vegetation and other items that were washed into the culvert due to the fast flowing water. Further clearing will take place once the water levels have reduced further.

"We will be working with partners at the Environment Agency and Thames Water to investigate why the flooding happened and develop a plan to avoid it happening again in the future."

Thames Water said its engineers had checked the flooding earlier this week and confirmed it was not the result of a burst water main.