RESIDENTS in a Warminster village woke to find the worst flooding in living memory at the weekend.

Streets in Kingston Deverill turned into lakes as the water seeped through doors and swamped the ground floor of many homes - photos will be printed in tomorrow's Wiltshire Times and Chippenham News.

A 300-year-old house, renovated by Linnick Developments in Warminster, was one of the homes submerged by several inches of sludge and floodwater after a spell of torrential rain.

Tony Nicklin, a spokesman for Linnink Developments, said: “It’s never ever been that bad in the lifetime of anybody living there.

“We are still cleaning up now four days later. It’s the sludge that is the problem.

“Once the water has gone it leaves a thick sludge up the wall and of course we have had to remove the carpets.”

Renovation work on Whitepitts Farm has taken 13 months and even won the company a design award by West Wiltshire District Council, which was presented on Wednesday.

Fire crews called to Longleat House on Saturday where the cellars were left under several inches of water after the estate’s lake burst its banks.

Two fire crews from Trowbridge were at Lord Bath’s estate helping to pump water away.

A spokesman for Longleat said: “The lake couldn’t cope and burst its banks.

“The cellar cafe was flooded and we lost some stock in the cellar.

“It was a stirling job by the fire crew to help pump water out.

“It was a lot of water and I don’t think staff have seen anything quite like that before.”

The main part of the Elizabethan stately home avoided flood damage.

Chris Trimby, Warminster’s retained fire station manager was called to five incidents that morning including Turnpike Cottage in Chapmanslade,, where water was seeping into the house through the patio doors.

Fore Street, Portway and Bath Road down to Coldharbour Lane were also subject to the heavy flood waters.

Fire crews used aqua vacs to pump the water away.

The military in Warminster were also praised by police for helping out during the weekend’s floods.

Soldiers took sandbags out to homes in Warminster and the surrounding villages to help reduce the risk of flood damage.

Inspector Dave Minty, of Warminster and Westbury police, said: “It probably saved quite a lot of damage. One of the benefits of being a garrison town is our relationship with the Army and it is in times like this that their work with the community comes to the fore.”

To see more flooding pictures CLICK HERE to see our picture gallery.