Grandmother's home flooded for third time in a year » Housing » 24dash.com

Grandmother Carol Pritchard was today considering abandoning her home after floods ravaged it for the third time in a year.

Mrs Pritchard's front room in Lakeside Avenue, Lyndey, in the Forest of Dean, was deluged with rancid water just three days after a new oak panelled floor had been fitted.

The mother of four 'felt sick' as she contemplated yet another fresh start, and her son Jon worked with a bucket to clear two feet of rancid water.

She told the Western Daily Press: "This is horrendous, far worse than last time. It came through the house like a river and caused complete devastation.

"It's taken seven months to get everything sorted out after last time and they only finished on Monday. Now everything has been ruined and we've got to start all over again.

"I don't want to live here anymore, but there's nowhere else to go. I feel very angry because everyone knew about this problem, yet they allowed it to happen again."

Around 13 properties were affected in the road when a water began gushing from a culvert.

Meanwhile, the UK was lashed by torrential rain and gale-force winds today as the first major storm of the autumn caused widespread chaos.

Large swathes of the Britain were deluged, with heavy and persistent rain causing some localised flooding.

Severe weather and flood warnings were in place in south west England and Wales, with the heavy rain expected to drift north as the day progressed.

A number of roads were under water in Gloucestershire and a road in Gwent was closed following a landslide.

The AA reported a higher than normal number of breakdowns as cars ran into trouble after driving through floodwater.

In Devon, one of the areas worst hit by the storms, a motorist had to be rescued by firefighters after a tree branch fell on his car.

Today's heavy rain followed persistent rainfall in many parts of the UK last night.

Some parts of south Wales were expected to receive more than two inches of rain by the end of today.

Julian Mayes, senior forecaster for MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "What we've got is a band of heavy rain moving up the west of Britain, as expected.

"The rain has been very heavy over Wales this morning, particularly the southern area of the country.

"There was localised flooding there yesterday. Essentially, they are experiencing heavy intensity rain and winds.

"The weather is going to clear in south west England and south Wales but as the weather front clears, it is being replaced by some heavy showers."

He added: "Essentially, the picture is very disturbed, but the worst of the weather is now heading to northern England and the southern uplands of Scotland."

The Environment Agency has 27 flood watches in place, mainly in Wales.

Three flood warnings are also in place on rivers in Devon and Cornwall, a spokesman said.

Parts of the UK experienced gale-force winds, with gusts of more than 60mph recorded at headlands near Torbay in Devon this morning.

The Met Office issued severe weather warnings across large swathes of the country, including all of Wales and all of south west England, the West Midlands and parts of Northern Ireland.

A spokeswoman said: "The ground is already fairly saturated across much of the country following the rainfall this summer.

"This heavy rainfall is going to collect on the ground rather than drain away."

Bodmin Moor in Cornwall was the wettest place in the UK yesterday, with more than one inch of rain falling overnight.

The weather affected plans to build a 26ft-long ice sculpture of one of Britain's most famous bridges.

Plans to create a four-tonne ice replica of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol were scrapped due to the persistent rain.

A number of sports pitches were closed in Devon as the deluge took its toll and a Gloucester primary school was shut when its playground and playing fields flooded.

A landmark bridge in Newport, south Wales, which was closed for repairs, was today re-opened to help motorists stranded because of flooding.

A Newport City Council spokesman said: "In response to problems associated with localised flooding near Stephenson Street, the bridge has been temporarily re-opened to help people in the area who are experiencing difficulties."

Elsewhere in Wales, a music festival was cancelled at the last minute after a river burst its banks.

The ninth Jazz in the Park event was due to take place in a site alongside the River Afon Llwyd in Pontypool, South Wales, but its three marquees flooded.

In mid Wales yesterday, a helicopter was scrambled to rescue a motorist whose 4x4 became stuck in flood water.

A spokeswoman for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the man had been attempting to drive across a ford which was flooded at Manafon, Llanfair Caereinion.

The force of the water pushed the vehicle off the ford.

Mr Mayes said heavy rain was not unusual in September but the intensity of today's rainfall was notable.

He said: "The reason the rain has been so heavy in south west England and Wales is because the sea has stored up all the heat over the summer, enabling the air to hold more moisture.

"Heavy rain is a feature of the weather in September but this depression has been particularly large."

As the heavy rain slowly makes its slow progress northwards, it is expected to be replaced by warmer weather tomorrow.