Fresh floods lead to traffic chaos

Botley Road and Abingdon Road were closed last night and remained shut throughout the rush hour as thousands of commuters returned to work and school pupils had their first day back after the Christmas holidays.

A police spokesman said Abingdon Road was still passable, but traffic was being diverted because of the number of motorists driving through at speed and causing 'bow waves' of water, which were flooding neighbouring properties.

Many drivers ignored flood warning signs by the traffic lights at Seacourt in Botley and ploughed through deep water to make their way through to the city centre.

Because of the severe problems, police and highways engineers from Oxfordshire County Council decided to lift the usual traffic restrictions in Oxford's High Street for the day, to help people get to work.

With the Oxford to Paddington rail line south of the city also under water, Railtrack managers laid on 20 coaches to ferry commuters between Oxford and Didcot Parkway stations.

The Redbridge park and ride service was still in operation, but buses were being diverted along the ring road to Rose Hill and into the city centre via Iffley Road and the High Street.

Insp Peter Shepherd, of Thames Valley Police, said: "We are anticipating there will be severe traffic congestion."

He advised commuters to allow themselves extra time to get to work or avoid unnecessary journeys.

Botley Road was closed from the A34 slip-road at West Way to Ferry Hinksey Road. Abingdon Road was shut from Folly Bridge to the Donnington Bridge Road junction. Donnington Bridge Road and Weirs Lane were also closed. The decision was taken jointly by the police and Oxfordshire County Council.

The Environment Agency said the River Thames at Oxford was at its highest level since the floods of 1947 which followed the thaw after a particularly hard winter.

About 30 tonnes of sand were delivered yesterday to the Redbridge Park and Ride in Abingdon Road, and the PC World car park in Botley Road for residents to fill sandbags as the demand for flood defences increased.

John Kelly, the county council's emergency planning officer, who has been working alongside emergency services and the Environment Agency, said schools would reopen after the Christmas holidays today as planned, unless they were on teacher-training days.

"It's too close to opening to disrupt any plans. On balance we are letting the schools go ahead unless care takers say there is water in the schools," he said.

All rail services between Oxford and Didcot have been cancelled since Friday because the line is flooded at Kennington. Thames Trains is offering a replacement bus service.

Ice caused by frozen flood water added to the misery of commuters and pedestrians. One of the worse affected area was Botley Road, which was closed by police yesterday afternoon. Abingdon Road has been closed since about 10pm on Saturday.

On Osney Island in west Oxford, Bridge Street, West Street and South Street flooded with water coming up though the drains. The Environment Agency brought in pumps to remove the water.

Abingdon and West Oxford MP, Dr Evan Harris, visited the island to liaise with the agency, and helped to distribute sand bags.

An Environment Agency spokesman said the Thames had reached its peak yesterday. But this resulted in flooding in west Oxford because water which would normally flow into the Thames from Bulstake Stream and Osney Stream was being held back.

He said the Thames was higher than during the floods of 2000, but defences built since had resulted in far fewer homes being affected.

He said up to 150 houses were flooded compared with 10,000 along the length of the River Thames two years ago.

The kitchen of Rene Haffenden, 86, of Bridge Street was flooded. Her home had not flooded since 1947.

She said: "It was really worrying this time because it happened so quickly."

Among residents worst-affected on Abingdon Road was Nick Dobson, 54. He said his basement was under two feet of water and his ground-floor kitchen was also flooded. It was the third time in four years his home had been hit.

He said: "This year it is by far the worst. I have hired a pump but it can't keep pace with what is coming in.

"I have had to turn the power off. We have no heating, we have no hot water. The boiler and the freezer are under water."

He said drivers had continued to drive along Abingdon Road yesterday, despite the road closures.

Charmian Downer, 55, of Lake Street, off Abingdon Road, said water was lapping up to her front door and she was stacking up furniture and moving items upstairs in case it came into the house.

"I have never seen anything like this and I have been here 13 years," she said.

The back garden of Julia Hamer-Hunt, 51, of Bridge Street, Osney Island, was entirely submerged with water and sewage. Her kitchen was also flooded.

Her furniture had been mounted on pallets with the help of council workmen.

She criticised the Environment Agency for the lack of information on its recorded floodline.

"I waited 25 minutes waiting to be connected to a person rather than a recording," she added.

Peter Collins, Environment Agency flood defence officer, putting out sandbags on Osney Island, said the Thames had peaked, but Osney Stream was expected to rise throughout Monday and into Tuesday.

James Gill, 62, of Bullstake Close, said houses and ground-floor flats in his road had been evacuated.

He said he stacked his furniture on Saturday night and awoke yesterday to find about eight inches of water downstairs.

"Two years ago this happened to me and it is worse this time," he said.

When his home was flooded in 2000 he decided to go on holiday to Tenerife, and cleared the debris on his return.

Andrew Ivett , 50, of Earl Street, west Oxford, was staying at the Watermans Arms Pub , South Street, Osney Island, because his home was flooded.

"By Friday morning it was right through the house. There was about nine inches of water in the kitchen and bathroom. I couldn't have a shower, bath or cook," he said.

His home was last flooded in December 2000 for 10 days.

Divisional officer Peter Tonks, co-ordination Oxfordshire Fire Service's operations, said: "It hit Oxford particularly badly on Saturday and Sunday."

He said the service had been inundated with calls and was helping to pump water from residents homes.

But in many cases there was nowhere to divert the water to prevent it flowing back into houses.

"We have been actively pumping out where we can. But there needs to be a difference in water levels. We are just waiting for things to start to recede," he said.

He said the service was helping the elderly and those who lived alone to stack up furniture and move it upstairs.

Call the Environment Agency floodline on 0845 9881188 or go to www.environment-agency.gov.uk.

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