Parts of Swindon flooded after weekend of heavy rain

The rainfall has not come close to reaching the levels of devastation from the deluge last Autumn which saw several homes and businesses, including the Link Centre, damaged by flood water. 

But members of the public, and even local police officers, have been out and captured some of the wetter parts of the town following the most recent rain which had prompted a yellow weather warning from the Met Office.

The big lake in Mouldon Hill Country Park was higher on Sunday morning, with the swans enjoying a much larger swimming area as water encroached over what was once pavemented walkways. 

Swindon and Wiltshire Camera Club member John Toner shared some pictures with the Advertiser, as did Wendy Braidford.

Parts of Wanborough were also flooded, including a patch of land near to the new Linden Homes-built housing estate.

These pictures were provided by Tony Ward. 

Elsewhere, the Swindon North, East and Rural Community Neighbourhood Policing Team issued a warning to motorists that there was a lot of standing water on the roads surrounding the town and in the wider Wiltshire county. 

A statement said: "Lots of standing water on the roads, especially in the rural areas so please take it steady when driving.

"There appears to be a new lake between Hannington and Castle Eaton. PC Lambert wishes he’d brought his wellies today."

Other areas affected included Roves Farm in Sevenhampton which was forced to shut down today despite it being the last day of half-term. 

But as one Swindon fire station found out, many people either didn't get the message or thought they'd try to visit the attraction anyway.

A spokesperson for Stratton St Margaret Fire Station said: "Roves Farm and Visitor Centre is closed today.

"There is a sign out the front too. Please don’t attempt to drive through the flood water as the on-call have already rescued a family whose car was hydraulically locked after sucking water through the air box.

"We turned away several cars who were attempting to make their way through to the farm."

And finally, there was significant disruption to the local rail service with Great Western Railway (GWR) announcing delays between London and Cardiff because of flooding between Swindon and Bristol, as well as cancellations between Swindon and Chippenham - again because of flooding on Sunday morning.

Swindon Borough Council has called for an investigation into recent instances of flooding.