Staverton floods: Irresponsible drivers seen on flooded closed road

They were photographed ignoring 'road closed' signs and crossing the bridge at Staverton.

Despite the B3105 to the causeway being closed since Thursday night and three closure signs at the start to New Terrace, The Bear pub and at at Nestle, drivers are ignoring them and trying to drive through the flooded causeway. Photo: Trevor Porter 69567-5 (Image: Trevor Porter)

They then drove through flooding on the B3105 New Terrace at Forwood Common to reach the B3107 Bradford on Avon Road.

A small group of people gathered on the bridge at Staverton to watch and see if the drivers were able to make it through.

A small group of people watched as some motorists ignored the 'road closed' signs and drove through the floods. Photo: Trevor Porter 69567-3 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Wiltshire Council closed the floodgate on the B3106 between Staverton and Holt to prevent drivers from using the cut through road.

Despite the B3105 to the causeway being closed since Thursday night drivers are chancing driving through the floods. Photo:Trevor Porter 69567-2 (Image: Trevor Porter)

The Environment Agency and the AA strongly advise against entering flood water that is moving or more than 10 centimetres deep.

According to the AA, a third of flood-related deaths involve a vehicle because drivers take unnecessary risks.

In 2020, it rescued almost 9,000 vehicles that had driven through or were stuck in flood water, with an estimated insurance bill of more than £34 million.

In a recent AA poll, more than one in six motorists (18 per cent) admitted they would not change their driving plans despite a red weather warning.

The AA, which commissioned the poll of 13,000 drivers, said people who ignore alerts about treacherous conditions are “needlessly putting themselves and their passengers at risk”.

The Environment Agency still has flood warnings in place for the Upper and Middle Bristol Avon areas, including Bradford on Avon, Melksham, Chippenham, Lacock, Reybridge, Malmesbury and the Chitterne Valley.

Flood alerts for the Upper and Mid Bristol Avon area warn of the possibility of further flooding from saturated fields after the recent heavy rainfall.

But the Agency removed a flood warning for the Sherston Avon area near Malmesbury, although it added: “River levels are falling, but still pose a flood risk.

“We will reissue this warning if the situation changes. We continue to monitor the situation. Our incident response staff are checking the condition of defences.

“Please see the GOV.UK website for a five-day flood forecast and plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers which may be flooded and refer to local authority website for local road closures.”