'Like it wasn't real' - 100 days since Storm Bert

Flooding of the centre of Chippenham during Storm Bert

Organisations are still unable to use their buildings 100 days after Storm Bert caused the flooding of a town centre.

The highest flow in more than 50 years caused the River Avon to burst its banks with the Environment Agency describing the flood as an "extreme" event.

Some businesses, including chains like Superdrug, remain closed while an air cadet group has been unable to return to its base and a homeless charity forced to hire other venues.

Jo Kitching, director of the Doorway charity, said: "We couldn't believe our eyes. It did feel like it wasn't real."

Air cadets are using a community hall and do not know when they will be able to us their building again

'Can't describe the feeling'

The 1304 Squadron Air Cadets not only had its building flooded during the storm on 25 November 2024 but computers with flight simulators, teaching resources and uniforms were all destroyed.

Pilot Officer Alex Indge was the first to see the flooding. "You can't describe the feeling it gave me," she said.

Nothing has been replaced yet and, with the squadron being decades old, she said memories would go as well.

She said they did not know when they could return to their unit - or even if they would have to fully rebuild.

"We're just keeping morale up as much as possible" she said.

Jo Kitching from Homeless charity Doorway is having to use other venues

'It looks worse now'

Homeless charity Doorway has been forced to spend money hiring other venues until it can use its own again.

Ms Kitching said: "We couldn't believe our eyes. It did feel like it wasn't real."

"It looks worse now that it did then."

She said the community had been helpful and the charity hoped to be back in its own building in the summer.

Andy Wallis from the Environment Agency said it was very rare for flooding to happen in Chippenham

The Environment Agency said flooding in Chippenham was rare but it could not promise it would never happen again.

Andy Wallis, a flood risk management technical advisor for the agency, said: "It's worth pointing out how extreme this event was."

"We ended up with flows here higher than we've had for 50 years, possibly longer."

He said the sluice gate in Chippenham was from the 1960s and was a "liability" but did work and had stopped the flooding from being worse.

The agency is planning to start work on replacing the gate in 2027.

Wiltshire Council said the flooding in Chippenham and throughout Wiltshire was some of the worst seen for many years and it had been supporting residents and businesses as best it could.

The council said it has been investing in flood prevention measures in Wiltshire, such as drainage work, but that would not stop a river rising in extreme weather.