'The water was up to my knees': Axminster family with four-month-old baby rescued from flooded home

• Rescue teams were called to East Devon to help evacuate people who were trapped by rising floodwater, as ITV West Country's Bob Cruwys reports

A family with a four-month old baby have been rescued by the coastguard after rising floodwater trapped them in their home.

Rescue teams were called to Axminster, East Devon, on Monday 30 September, as part of a multi-agency response to flooding in the area.

Billy Vernon, who was evacuated from his home with his partner and three children, said the floodwater rose quickly.

"I was down there at one o'clock and it was up to my ankles, but then by two o'clock it was up to my knees.

"We tried to get everything as high up as we could," he explained.

He added: "We woke the kids and the animals up and thankfully everyone's okay now."

Residents were evacuated from their homes after heavy rain caused flooding in Axminster

Sam Houston, senior coastal operations officer for HM Coastguard, said at one point the floodwater in the area was "up to four feet deep".

"We managed to get them out, and they've gone to a local casualty reception centre in Axminster all safe and well, which is a great result for us," he said.

Across Devon and Somerset, a number of roads and homes were submerged after heavy rain caused flooding overnight.

It followed a number of flood alerts and warnings from the Environment Agency.

Axminster Fire Station said several drivers had to be rescued from their vehicles after they got stuck in floodwater.

HM Coastguard is urging motorists not to drive through floodwater and to find alternative routes if roads are blocked.

Mr Houston added: "We have no idea what's down there and we also don't know how deep it is.

"So when you're driving along, there could be anything from manhole covers that have blown off, there could be branches, there could be all-sorts. Just stay away from it is our best advice."