Thirty people rescued from floods

Tatworth in South Chard was flooded Pic: Sam Smith

Thirty people had to be rescued from cars as parts of Somerset were hit by flash floods up to 3ft (90cm) deep.

The Environment Agency has put flood warnings in place, with parts of Glastonbury, Yeovil, Shepton Mallet and Chard being the worst-hit.

Devon and Somerset Fire Service took 250 calls in an hour early on Saturday when the rain was at its most intense.

Crews were needed to pump out water from gardens and fields to stop homes being flooded.

Ground 'impassable'

The village of Walton, near Street, has been particularly badly affected by the flooding.

In Hempitts Road, most of the houses have been flooded.

Residents Jane and Tony Bird said their 11-year-old son, Jack, who had slept on a mattress downstairs with friends, woke up floating.

"My son's friend was sort of floating in the living room on his mattress and I came down quite quickly and I soon found we were about four or five inches deep in water throughout the house," said Mr Bird.

Our friends and neighbours came to our rescue and we bailed out tons of water Valerie Holland-Bennett

"It was smelly - that was a bit of a shock. The garden was about a foot under water. It is really shocking to be honest. I can't quite get over it," he said.

The water was still heading towards their property and many families in the road were expecting to have to move into alternative accommodation because of the water damage.

BBC Somerset reporter Trudi Harris said that as many as 50 families' homes in the village had been flooded.

No electricity

She said many had been told by their insurance companies they would be facing Christmas away from home.

Elsewhere in Somerset, the River Cale in Wincanton burst its banks.

Nearby resident Marco Alfarrobinha said: "My flat is right in front of the river on elevated terrain and yet the water is almost touching my front door. I can only be sorry for those whose houses have been flooded."

Another Wincanton resident, Tony Young, said: "The local recreation ground is impassable towards Morrisons and Lidl, and the bridges over the river have just become usable."

At Ilminster, the town centre is clear of flood water, but the B3168 Station Road from the A303 Southgate Roundabout to the town is flooded.

Some homes have been flooded to a depth of six inches

Volunteers have been directing traffic from the A303 roundabout, trying to stop cars driving down Station Road and causing wash into the row of houses.

Geoff Smith who lives in Ilminster said that at its peak the water was up to the skirting boards in his house.

"I've spoken to the insurance company who are going to come out tomorrow and they've put me up in a hotel for two nights as there's no electricity," he said.

In Charlton Adam, near Somerton, Valerie Holland-Bennett came downstairs to find her home flooded with 6in (15cm) of water.

"The fire service are only dealing with real emergencies, but our friends and neighbours came to our rescue and we bailed out tons of water within four hours," she said.

"Thank goodness for such good friends and neighbours."

The Devon and Somerset control centre said it had been taking one emergency call every two or three minutes since 0500 GMT.

A spokeswoman in the Somerset control room said: "We've had 270 calls since 2am and most of those are relating to flooded homes.

"We are getting to properties but we are having to queue incidents because there's such a large volume."