Villager in Aldbourne have been hard at work mopping up, with homes in Lottage Road and West Street worst affected.

Pauline and Brian Warneford, of West Street, have lived in their house for four years and have never had a problem with flooding before.

They first discovered water in their home in the early hours of last Friday when the electricity went.

Mrs Warneford, 57, said: “My husband noticed his clock had stopped at about 4am so he went downstairs to flick the trip switch and the floor was squelching.

"It’s been a nightmare, but our neighbours have been a fantastic help.

“We don’t know when it’s going to stop and we’re not covered by the insurance because it only covers flood damage if the water comes into the house, not if it comes up the through the floors. The house was built in 1760 and nobody has any recollection of it flooding before.”

Trish Rushen, of Lottage Road, has lived in the village for 35 years and said this is the worst case of flooding she can remember.

She said: “The water table is so high that springs are coming up near to people’s properties.”

Fiona Cheney lives in Lottage Road with her husband Patrick and son Mark. She said: “We’ve lived here for 34 years and nothing like this has ever happened before, there’s been flooding on the road but never in the house.

“Water started coming through in the living room on Saturday and since then we’ve been pumping water out 24-7. If I didn’t laugh about it I would cry.”