TRAINS around Swindon ground to a halt yesterday after 90 passengers had to be evacuated when their service became stranded in floodwater.

At about 1am a train became stuck in water up to a metre deep near Corsham.

Resources were scrambled to rescue the passengers, who were sent home in taxis five hours after the incident.

It is unknown how long the train will remain stuck after reports the ballast on the line has been washed away.

All lines between Swindon and Bath Spa were blocked and road replacement services could not be found until 9am.

The fire service dealt with more than 200 calls for assistance in the west of the county during overnight storms and flash floods.

While no incidents were logged in Swindon, lightning struck homes in Melksham, and one caught fire.

Replacement bus services were co-ordinated after First Great Western found services unable to reach Chippenham due to the floodwater.

A spokesman for First Great Western said: “Due to flooding between Bath Spa and Swindon, services to and from Bristol Temple Meads are unable to call at Chippenham and will be diverted via an alternative route, adding around 45 minutes to journey times from Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa.”

A spokesman for Wiltshire Fire and Rescue said: “Shortly after 1am, Network Rail informed Wiltshire Fire And Rescue Service Control that a train had become stuck in floodwater at Pound Pill in Corsham.

“Ninety passengers were on the train, which came to a halt in a cutting where water was up to a metre deep in places.

“A multi-agency response was put in place to resolve the incident.

“All passengers had been removed from the train by 6am and were transported home by taxi.

“In addition to the rail incident, Wiltshire Fire AndRescue Service has received in excess of 200 calls for assistance since 9pm on September 18 due to the severe weather.

“We have also been dealing with a roof fire involving a house in Littlejohn Avenue, Melksham.

“Wiltshire Fire And Rescue Service would urge all drivers to take care on the roads due to floodwater and the potential for some manhole covers to be raised. Some traffic lights may also not be working.”

Purton and Braydon councillor Jacqui Lay, said anyone who experiences issues should contact fire control and the council.

She said: “Wiltshire Council have a process to alert councillors and residents on issues in their areas that might be affected by flooding.

“Any communications do need information from local people to be fully effective, hence if in the future we have issues in our area we need to be feeding this information back to Wiltshire Council.

“Earlier in the year, when the media concentrated on the Somerset flooding problems, Wiltshire had more homes affected than any other area in the country.

“We were able to achieve funding from the Environment Agency to solve some of the problems. It seems that last night parts of Wiltshire were again affected by the storms.”