Flood crews' 'busiest night ever'

Crewkerne was one of the worst hit areas. Photo from Verity Bracher Your pictures: Flash floods

Fire crews tackling flood emergencies in Somerset said it was their "busiest night in living history".

Homes in the worst-hit areas of south Somerset were evacuated after a sudden and heavy burst of rain on Thursday evening.

Devon and Somerset fire service said Crewkerne, Ilminster, Shepton Mallet and Wells were most severely affected.

Four people were rescued when their car became stuck in a flood at Langford Bridge near Honiton, in Devon.

By late Thursday night, the flooding was beginning to subside almost as soon as it had begun, but hundreds of homes had been flood-damaged.

At the storm's peak, the fire brigade was taking calls "every few seconds" from worried residents, with more than 350 emergency calls received in two-and-a-half hours.

Spokesman Andy Newland said the flood happened in different circumstances to the deluges that wreaked havoc across parts of north, south and central England last summer.

He said: "It was a typical flash flood, gone almost as quickly as it came. It has quietened down considerably overnight.

"It's very different from what happened in Gloucestershire because that built up for many days.

"This was literally that a tremendous amount of water came down with very little warning and the surface water drainage couldn't handle it."

Many people attending the annual Bath and West show in Shepton Mallet were stranded as they tried to leave the flood-hit showground.

Dan Mountain, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: "We had about seven cars stuck in water leaving the showground.

"We considered bringing in the RAF helicopter but it was not required and it was stood down."

County councillor and Crewkerne resident John Dyke said: "We really had a mammoth problem here in Crewkerne with several inches of rain falling in 10 to 15 minutes.

"I was absolutely gobsmacked. I'm over 60 and I can recall it happening twice in living memory, but nowhere as bad as this.

"It's the sheer amount of water falling in a short period which has caused the problems."

Crewkerne Chamber of Commerce has offered help to any trader affected by the floods.

"While our hearts go out to any business affected, we are glad there has been no reported personal injury," said chairman Marcus Barrett.

This weekend's Sunrise Celebration music festival at Bearley Farm near Yeovil has been officially called off due to the bad weather conditions.

Organisers said the decision was made for safety reasons after heavy rain waterlogged the ground.

An operation was taking place to help stall-holders and revellers who had already arrived to leave the site.

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