Homes waterlogged in Reading as Environment Agency warns of more 'significant flooding' to come

WATCH: ITV Meridian's Kit Bradshaw reports on the floods in Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Sussex.

Several homes have been flooded in Reading after the River Kennet burst its banks.

Properties in the Southcote area of the Berkshire town were damaged overnight, with extensive flooding of houses on Sylvan Walk.

Flood warnings remained in force on Saturday evening, 6 January, for properties close to the banks of the River Thames and River Kennet in Reading.

Resident Anthony Cross said: “I got a call last night at about 1 o’clock saying that the water was coming through the house. My mother is elderly, bed bound and on her own here. It has come into the house and flooded the front room and the kitchen.”

Elsewhere in the South, the Environment Agency has warned of more flooding damage to come in Oxfordshire, despite the drier weather forecast over coming days.

Katharine Smith, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: "Significant river flooding impacts are still expected today and over the next few days across parts of the River Thames in Oxfordshire… The prolonged wet weather and intense rainfall has led to flooding impacts and our thoughts are with all of those affected."

Abingdon and Oxford have been badly hit by flooding over recent days, with a self-fill sandbag station set up by local councils at Redbridge Park & Ride.

In Sussex, the River Arun burst its banks at Pulborough, with fields and gardens flooded and some roads impassable.

Pulborough resident Hugh Potton said: “I think this is the worst I’ve seen in the 25 years I’ve been here. I think we’ve had one year when it has overtopped the road previously, but this is just about the worst.”

A month's worth of rain – 90mm – has fallen in the West Sussex village since New Year's Eve, according to the Environment Agency.

Pulborough resident Maura Pigram said: “It looks like the Lake District at the moment, which is lovely for the wildlife but not so much for local people.”

Firefighters in Kent were called to rescue four occupants from a vehicle stuck in floodwater off Darman Lane, Paddock Wood, on Friday evening.

Data shows almost every river in England to be exceptionally high with some rivers reaching their highest flow on record.

The latest flood alert and warnings are available on the Environment Agency website.

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