Flooding forces couple to use boat to get to their front door

Mr and Mrs Smart use a boat to get items to their front door

A couple from Somerset have been flooded so badly they are using a boat to get shopping and their grandchildren along their driveway and to their front door.

Bill Smart, from Blakeway near West Hay, told BBC Radio Somerset his home has been flooded up to two feet - but miraculously the inside remains dry.

Along the road, neighbour Lyndon Smith woke up to a burst rhyne next to his property, turning his garden into a pond and his patio into a jetty.

The pair believe issues with the nearby pumping station at North Drain has contributed to their home seeing its worst flooding in more than 25 years.

The couple say the boat has been a great help while their property is flooded

Mr Smart said the flooding is as "deep as I've ever seen it", adding while his home remains dry, for now, all his outbuildings have flooded and the septic tank on his property is under threat.

The boat he uses to get groceries and other items - and his grandchildren - into his home actually belongs to his neighbour, but he called it "very useful".

While being in good spirits, Mr Smart did worry problems further downstream contributed to his property becoming submerged.

"This shouldn't have happened," he told BBC Radio Somerset.

"We're dependent on the North Drain Pumping Station... and up until yesterday they were only running one pump.

"Added to that is the issue that Natural England insist that part of the levels are flooded at this time of year... for wintering birds.

"I'm not very happy about it at all because, although this is nature, and this is part of living on the Somerset Levels, this is more than an inconvenience now, this is a serious threat."

Lyndon Smith said he felt "sick" when he saw the flooding

Down the road, which was surrounded by flooded paddocks and fields full of swimming swans, university professor Lynton Smith woke up to his garden totally flooded following heavy rainfall, after a rhyne overflowed next to his property.

He explained while he usually gets some flooding, it has never been this bad.

"What makes me even more scared is when the level slowly increases... and it's getting up towards the door which is getting me a bit panicked," he said.

"I'm really in the hands of the people who are pumping, and if we get that pumping working really reliably then all our anguish would be lifted.

"I'm sure their doing what they can but there's clearly something going wrong down at the pumping station."

Prof Smith added: "It's getting worse all the time."

Both Prof Smith and Mr Smart met with their local MP, James Heappey, following the flooding, and said they were planning to form an action group.

Swans have been enjoying the flooded levels

The Somerset Levels are used to hold flood water for a number of reasons most years.

In response to the claims about the pumping station, the Enviroment Agency told the BBC: "We are continuing our operational pumping activity at North Drain pumping station during low tide.

"River levels on the River Brue are too high to allow pumping outside of the low tide window.

"In addition, we are reinforcing our pumping capability at North Drain Pumping Station with two more submersible pumps, supplementing the fixed assets and other temporary pumps already in place.

"We continue to monitor the situation."