12:30pm Wednesday 10th January 2007
By The Page Turner
FIRE crews were called to deal with flooded homes in Oxfordshire today following heavy rain.
Firefighters helped to salvage belongings from dozens of homes in Witney, Leafield and Curbridge between 2.30am and 4am.
Homeowners in Hailey Road, Witney, were among the worst affected.
Environment Agency spokesman Dave Ferguson said 35mm of rain overnight in west Oxfordshire - compared to 15mm in the rest of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Gloucestershire - was responsible for the flood damage.
He said: "We believe a ditch running close to Eastfield Road overflowed - the amount of water was too high for the culvert, and our crews are now checking to make sure any debris has been cleared away from the grilles to ensure that the water is flowing as smoothly as possible.
"Our staff were called at 4am and we have been liaising with firefighters."
Resident Bob Swanton, 51, of Rose Cottage, Hailey Road, said: "The water came straight in at 3.15am and I found there was four inches of water on the ground floor.
"The same thing happened two years ago - cars driving through water in the road can make the problem worse.
"Firefighters came at 5am and I used a pump to pump out my house."
Mr Swanton said the water "came in a torrent" down Hailey Road and ended up right outside his cottage.
He added: "The fields flooded and the River Windrush was too full to take the excess water away.
"Our settees and armchairs were all soaked and a laptop also got caught in it.
"This will definitely happen again - it has happened twice in the past three years.
"The only way to prevent this is to keep the ditches in the area clear.
"The district council and the Environment Agency need to get together and review what has happened to try to come up with a solution."
Schoolchildren on their way to Witney Community primary school were carried across floodwater at the junction of West End, Crawley Road and Hailey Road.
A number of roads in the area also affected by flooding including the A421 at Finmere, and B4031 Deddington to Aynho Road.
The number of flood warnings in Oxfordshire has increased again following overnight heavy rain.
Today, a total of 20 flood warnings were in place in the Environment Agency's Thames region.
Alerts were in place on long stretches of the River Thames and the catchment areas of the River Cherwell; the River Ray; the River Thame and the River Windrush.
Click here for latest Oxfordshire flood alerts.
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