PEOPLE have been urged to make sure they are fully prepared for flooding as rivers continued to rise across Oxfordshire last night.

Roads were flooded across the county yesterday as sewers inundated with rainwater overflowed in Kidlington, South Hinksey and West Oxfordshire.

Fourteen areas across Oxfordshire remained on flood alert following Sunday’s torrential rain, meaning flooding is possible and people should be prepared. But as the Oxford Mail went to press, there were still no flood warnings for the county, meaning no immediate flooding was expected.

The Thames, on flood alert throughout the whole of Oxfordshire, was yesterday recorded at a height of 3.5 metres in Oxford, about a metre higher than average.

Oxfordshire County Council leader Ian Hudspeth asked Thames Water to intervene after half of the the A4095 flooded near a pumping station at Long Hanborough.

He warned that rivers could continue to rise but said officers were keeping a close eye on levels.

He said: “The main issue is that when water falls on hillsides it takes a day or two to come down to lower areas. In a day or two we may get some additional water so we will look out for that.”

He urged people to check on vulnerable or elderly neighbours to make sure they were prepared for the worst.

In South Hinksey, sewers overflowed on to Manor Road.

Resident Chris Jankiewicz said: “There’s diluted sewage coming out, and eventually it runs into the Thames.”

And people in Kidlington faced a third day of flooding yesterday after a sewage pipe collapsed because of heavy rain.

Pavements were submerged under half a foot of water in Springfield Road, and fire crews and Thames Water staff helped people clear water from their driveways..

Oliver Silk, 20, who has lived in the road for 17 years, said the flood was “one of the worst” he could remember.

Stratfield Road, Grovelands and Lock Crescent were also flooded.

Nicola Blackwood, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, visited the village and said: “We cannot have this keep happening for residents. We do not yet have a timetable going forward [for solving the problem] but this is something that is being done.”

County council officers have been in liaison with the Environment Agency (EA) and stressed no property flooding was expected.

EA operations manager Peter Collins said it would take a “substantial amount of rain” over the next week for it to issue a flood warning, and said that was “not likely”.

He said the Thames rose very slowly and his staff were keeping a closer eye on some of its tributaries such as the Bullstake Stream in West Oxford.

Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for flooding Rodney Rose said: “Our emergency planning, fire and rescue, highways and other teams have been in a state of readiness to respond to potential flooding issues ever since the immediate period after Christmas.

“We continue to keep a close eye on river levels and urge the public to do the same via the internet and local media.”

Thames Water spokeswoman Sarah Davies said: “The weekend’s heavy rainfall has not had a significant impact on our sewers in Oxfordshire.

“However in some areas where high volumes of rain water have entered the network of pipes we’re using tankers to remove the excess water to protect our customers from flooding.

“We continue to carefully monitor our own information and that from organisations such as the Environment Agency and Met Office to enable us to put protective measures in place.”