Swindon hit by flooding chaos

9:13am Thursday 6th July 2006

ROADS all around Swindon were underwater this morning following a night of heavy rain.

Motorists were advised to avoid driving after several cars got stuck in floodwater.

Commercial Road in the town centre, Wootton Bassett Road near the Mannington roundabout, and Cheney Manor Road were all reported to be closed, and there were problems in Dorcan and Westlea.

Police said houses in Rodbourne have been evacuated.

The M4 was slow, with bad visibility because of the amount of surface water.

Wiltshire fire brigade said there were calls from all over Swindon and the surrounding area. Two homes in Wroughton have been flooded. Southern Electric said that about 1,000 homes in the village were without electricity, but the supply had been restored by 8am.

There are also several hundred homes without electricity scattered all over Swindon.

First Great Western said that signal problems between Didcot and Swindon were leading to 15 minute delays on the railway.

The Met Office issued a severe weather warning for Swindon and Wiltshire at 4am today and said it was expecting 20mm of rain to have fallen during the night.

* Anyone with electricity problems has been advised by Southern Electric to switch off their fuse box and reset it, which should work in about half of cases. If this does not work, or residents have any safety questions, the emergency line is on 08457 708090.