Wiltshire floods leave residents 'scared to return home'

In January, water poured into homes on London Road in Marlborough when the town was hit hard by severe flooding.

Some residents are yet to return to their houses, following months of repair works, but narrowly avoided another disaster during the recent heavy rainfall across the county.

One of the homes nearly affected by this incident belonged to Hannah White and her partner Will, who are just weeks away from moving back into their house following the January floods.

Ms White said: “The water was right up to our front door again which sends shivers down our spine and I’m not sure I’ve had a full night’s sleep since then.

READ MORE: Wiltshire Police issue urgent flooded roads warning

Flooding on London Road in September (Image: Public contribution)

“The torrential downpour on Sunday, September 22 overwhelmed the drains entirely and some of the residents at the top of the road were unable to block one, then it receded quickly.

“We were five minutes away from another flood, we’re about two weeks away from moving back in and I don’t know if I want to go back there for it to flood again.”

Many residents were frustrated at the lack of action by Wiltshire Council and felt they should not have been forced to take matters into their own hands “to stop the worst happening”.

Ms White added: “They’ve now sent out some contractors but there’s more work that needs to be done and we don’t know if they’ll do it.”

“We’re still waiting for the council to carry out a flood protection survey”, said Will.

“That has meant we almost flooded again before anyone has helped us to put in protection.

“Now we’ve had to buy a £500 flood gate and haven’t had any reassurance we’ll be able to claim this back on the flood grant.”

Cllr Nick Holder, cabinet member for highways, said: “The flooding on London Road in January was due to exceedingly high river levels.

Blocked drains have caused issues on London Road (Image: Public contribution) “Although there was a lot of water in the area last week, this was not to the same degree as the flooding in January.

“Last Monday evening (23 September), our drainage crew attended to jet the system which alleviated the issue.

“We are aware of a single gulley in the area which is not functioning properly. We are currently investigating which may involve using a camera to check inside the gulley to identify the cause.”

Highways issues can be reported using MyWilts online or calling 0300 456 0105.