Flooded resident says water levels remain high

Sami Gabriel said he and his wife had to sleep in shifts to keep an eye on river levels

A man whose home flooded after a nearby river burst its banks last week has said there is still no sign of water levels dropping despite days of dry weather.

Sami Gabriel, who lives by the River Lambourn in the Shaw area of Newbury, Berkshire, saw water gushing into his property after torrential rain hit the area.

Mr Gabriel said water had "managed to come up through the ground" in one part of his house despite having "really good flood defences" in place.

A number of flood warnings remain active across the county, including three in Newbury.

Mr Gabriel told BBC Radio Berkshire that to begin with, he and his wife were taking it in turns to sleep so they could monitor river levels.

Mr Gabriel said flood defences were generally doing their job, but the groundwater had risen above the floor in some parts of the house

Last night they "did get a bit of sleep" as the floors were "almost dry".

"This morning, we're back to a couple of centimetres," he said.

He said his daughter was currently sitting her mock A Levels, and he and his wife had "tried our best to isolate the kids from what's going on".

But he added everyone had to help with things like moving furniture, so they were "bluntly aware" of the situation.

The recent flooding in Berkshire is "right up there with some of the most significant flooding that we've seen", according to Tim Readings from Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service .

The flooding was some of the most significant Berkshire had seen, the fire service said

He said it had had a "devastating impact" on communities.

A number of homes in Wraysbury were evacuated on Monday night, something Mr Readings said was "not just a case of transporting people from A to B".

"People lose all sorts of items that are irreplaceable with great sentimental value," he said.

"It's a really delicate operation."

But Mr Gabriel said despite the "distressing" floods, there had been an "outpouring of support", with neighbours helping each other and sharing food and other resources.

"We pull together as a family," he said.

"And quite frankly, we pull together as a community as well."