Some buildings in High Street and Coventry Road were under two feet of water on Friday, even though the town only had 15 minutes of rain.

Work on a flood alleviation scheme for the area, which was scheduled to be put in place 18 months ago, is now due to begin in September.

Businesses affected by the flooding were forced to close for the day while they waited for the waters to subside.

'Not going to rush'

Malcolm Jones who runs a gallery in the town said: "It's the seventh time in four years that we've been flooded.

"We were promised 18 months ago and we haven't heard anything officially from Anglian water since then."

Drains overflowed and water ran along high streets - up to two feet high in places.

Becky Doherty from Anglian Water said: "We're not going to rush into anything.

"This (the scheme) was due to start in September and we've gone through all the processes.

"It will help but when we have torrential rain there is only so much we can do."