Village evacuated after river cracks defence walls as floods hit swathes of Britain - Telegraph.co.uk

Fareham Borough Council said the evcauation of 55 homes in the village had been ordered by the agency, with residents being taken to a leisure centre in the town of Fareham.

Dozens of houses in the village have deployed flood defences, given to properties most at risk as part of a government grant 18 months ago.

But Claire Nash, 40, who has lived in one of those houses for four years, said: "Our rear defence is not working properly and some water is coming in. It is very scary, we have moved the Christmas tree and presents upstairs.

"Our garden is so long that we never thought the water would get so high - we thought we would be safe."

Alan Humphrey, another resident, said: "In 2000 we were flooded and now we have these flood defences and they are effective. I'm not panicking - it's only water."

John Wilcox, manager of the village community association, said the village was pulling together to help those worst affected.

He told BBC News: "There are quite a few elderly people, quite a few young families, but we are a close-knit community and I am pretty sure that nobody's going to be left stranded. They'll all be looked after."

Mr Wilcox said the walls built to protect the village had "done well" to protect it until now.

Police have cordoned off the roads in Wallington while a junction of the nearby M27 motorway has been closed off because of the floods.

In Emsworth, Hants a Gordon and Margaret Coleman's bungalow was left uninhabitable after water rose to nine feet and swept their home.

Mr Coleman, 70, said: "It has ruined Christmas for us - we have no power, electric, phone or heating."

In Moreton, near Bere Regis in Dorset, a caravan was washed into the river Frome and swept away before being lodged against a small bridge amid swirling waters.

Fire crews were unable to save the caravan because the water in the river was moving too fast.

Also in Dorset, the Isle of Purbeck was deluged with 50mm of rain compared with an average of 88mm for the month of December in the county.

Meanwhile in Hampshire, a motorist who ignored warning signs to drive through a ford in Waterlooville had to be rescued, with his passengers, by firefighters using specialist equipment after the vehicle became submerged in more than three feet of water.

It was one of a number of incidents in which cars became stranded. There were several accidents caused by cars sliding on surface water on main roads.

More than 100 staff at Cornwall county council where a number of villages and roads have been inundated.

The deluge brought out the best in human nature in some places.

Malcolm and Rachel Crosby and their two young daughters, aged three weeks and two years, were put up by a local vicar, Rev Mark Badger, after flood defences failed and they had to evacuate their rented house in Kempsey, Worcs.

Commuters faced disruption in many of the flood-hit areas, with some trains services replaced by buses.

The Met Office said there would be some relief from the heavy rain tomorrow but there would be more heavy downpours on Saturday.

Forecasters warned motorists to take account of possible travel delays or disruption and be "prepared for severe weather" when planning festive getaways.

However they predicted that there would be some relief on Christmas Day, with sunny conditions on December 25 perfect for winter walks – though some western parts will see scattered showers.