Heavy rain causes flood problems in Wiltshire

Heavy rain has caused flooding and travel problems across parts of Wiltshire.

Warnings and alerts have been issued for rivers in the county, roads were closed and two schools shut early due to the weather.

The rain also caused delays on trains between Westbury and Taunton.

BBC weatherman Ian Fergusson warned of strong winds, up to 70mph in some areas, and further rain on Thursday, leading to "dangerous conditions".

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said it received over 60 calls to flooding throughout the county in the space of a three hours.

In Malmesbury, Crudwell Primary School had to evacuate a classroom at 10:30 GMT and closed the school a short while later due to water coming into the school grounds.

Another school, Brinkworth Earl Danby Lower School in Dauntsey, was closed due to concerns over flooding on the surrounding roads.

Flood alerts

The Environment Agency issued flood alerts for several rivers, including the Upper River Avon at Malmesbury and Chippenham, Upavon and Salisbury.

The River Biss at Westbury and Trowbridge, the River Nadder between Donhead St Mary and Salisbury and the Upper River Thames above Cricklade were also affected.

There were also warnings of groundwater flooding in the Cranborne Chase area.

At one stage, railway operator First Great Western said all lines between Swindon and south Wales were blocked because of flooding.

The road between Seagry and Great Somerford in Wiltshire flooded

Delays and cancellations also caused problems on the Plymouth to Westbury route; Bristol Parkway to Gloucester; Bristol to Taunton and between Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare.

On the roads, the B4069 at Kington Langley was closed due to substantial flooding, as was the A429 at Hullavington and Crudwell.

Another stretch of the A429 near Stanton St Quintin was described as "just passable" with the police reporting "18 inches of standing water" on the road.