Flooding latest: 40 evacuated from Marlborough retirement complex

Marlborough is one of several Wiltshire towns and villages hit by flooding

Dozens of vulnerable people were evacuated from a retirement complex earlier due to flooding.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) confirmed about 40 people were moved out of the Town Mill building in Marlborough, Wiltshire.

It said the evacuation was a "precautionary move" because of flooding caused by heavy rain.

Flooding has hit Wiltshire and the wider West region this week.

It has led to 25 flood warnings for the county and river levels rising in towns like Bradford-on-Avon, after Storm Henk hit the UK on Monday, followed by more days of heavy rain.

A DWFRS spokesperson said: "We were called at 10:59 GMT and are working with partners to move approximately 40 vulnerable people to a place of safety.

Fire crews have been assisting with rescue operations in Marlborough

"This is a precautionary move given the level of flooding in that area.

"We have a water rescue team from Stratton and a wading team from Trowbridge in attendance alongside the local crew from Marlborough."

Osprey Management, which runs the complex, declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.

Elsewhere in Marlborough, many residents have been been evacuated from their homes.

Ian Perryman, sheltering in the town hall with other residents, said people in the Wiltshire town had been offering spare rooms and keeping them fed, watered and warm.

"This brings out the best in people," he said.

"The river has been rising slowly, but we didn't expect it as high as it is. Water was lapping at our doors, it may have gone in -we don't know."

He added: "We waded out up to our thighs, got wet, dried off, took a bag with the essentials. It hasn't been like this before.

"As long as we've got a warming climate, we're going to get this."

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue added that it was helping the fire service to evacuate elderly residents to place of safety.

Meanwhile, residents in West Overton, near Marlborough, said the village was almost completely cut off apart from one small back road.

The Environment Agency said Bradford-on-Avon was its biggest concern in Wiltshire, after the town centre was closed due to flooding.