Malmesbury residents are again keeping an anxious eye on the weather today after more heavy rain overnight.

Those living near the town bridge took precautions by lifting furniture upstairs this morning, as water reached the top of the arches at the Silk Mills.

By about 11am the River Avon had burst its banks and a couple of gardens on St John’s Street were flooded.

Former mayor Ray Sanderson, who heads the Malmesbury flood alleviation working party, said: “There’s a few inches of water affecting two or three gardens at the moment but it’s not inside any properties. They’ve got the sandbags out. There is more rain forecast tonight unfortunately.”

The Met Office has issued an amber warning for overnight, with rain forecast until Sunday evening.

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue said they had been called out at 2.20am this morning to a home in Kings Road at Easterton, near Market Lavington, where a large amount of water in the garden was threatening the house. Firefighters spent an hour pumping water away.

A resident in The Street in Marden also called the fire service for help at 2.35am but no action could be taken.