Road chaos in county floods alert

Roads, homes and factories were under water and rail services faced severe disruption as rivers burst their banks after heavy rain.

Drivers on the M40 were caught in a massive 40-mile tailback last night, stretching from Wheatley, near Oxford, to Leamington Spa in Warwickshire.

Police and fire crews rescued more than 30 people from boats on the swollen Oxford Canal.

The basement of Spiceball Park sports centre at Banbury was under six feet of water.

Last night, slip roads on to the M40 were closed to stop more drivers becoming caught up in the jams.

Police warned motorists not to travel northbound on the motorway, to get off at the nearest junction or turn off at service stations to shelter from the rain.

Problems were made worse when tarmac on the motorway lifted in places.

Police cars travelled along the hard shoulder to give drinks to women with babies and help people with children and women on their own. The A34 was also solid from Wendlebury as motorists left the motorway to escape the chaos. Many roads around Banbury were blocked or treacherous and were today littered with abandoned cars. Oxfordshire fire service was inundated with calls from families as floods crept near their homes.

A spokesman advised people to move furniture and other belongings upstairs and put blankets in front of doors.

Workers from Cherwell District Council filled and distributed sandbags to protect homes and other buildings.

Grahame Handley, the council's chief executive, said: "Things are very bad. The whole of the region is suffering quite severely because there is a lot of standing water that just cannot get away."

Insp Chris Mooney, of Banbury police, said: "The situation is pretty chaotic. RWe are keeping a running log and reports of incidents are coming in all the time."

Trains were also affected between Oxford and Banbury when part of the track was washed away. Buses were replacing trains north of Oxford today as engineers carried out repairs.

The Environment Agency today issued severe flood warnings for the north of the county. WORKERS armed with sandbags swung into action across north Oxfordshire to prevent homes flooding during the bad weather.

Vehicles became trapped in floods and roads were closed yesterday, after water levels rose as high as two feet in places following constant downpours over the last two days.

The rain is set to continue today and Cherwell District Council is on full alert with its workers filling and laying sandbags outside homes to keep the water at bay.

Police said the A361was badly affected between Banbury and Bloxham and Daventry, and between Bloxham and Broughton.

Valley Road in Finmere, near Bicester, was closed yesterday and the centre of Tadmarton village was under two feet of water.

The Environment Agency has issued a yellow flood warning on the Evenlode, Cherwell and Windrush rivers, in the north of the county, which have swollen and burst their banks, flooding low-lying farmland.

A spokesman warned with more rain forecast, the situation could get worse.

Grahame Handley, chief executive of Cherwell District Council, says dozens more properties and gardens could be at risk from being swamped and says it is ready to fill 1,000 more bags.

He said: "Things are very bad. The whole of the region is suffering quite severely because there is a lot of standing water that just cannot get away.

"The information I am getting is that the weather in the north of the county is possibly worse than elsewhere and we have got every available person in our direct labour department dealing with the problem.

"People are also coming in tomorrow, on Good Friday, because the rain is expected to continue. We are totally stretched."

Insp Chris Mooney, of Banbury police, said: "The situation is pretty chaotic. We are keeping a running log and reports of incidents are coming in all the time.

"In some places three or four vehicles have become trapped in the water."

The centre of Oxford failed to escape the chaos, with traffic using the Botley Road badly affected by flooding outside the Carpenters Arms pub.

A spokesman for the AA said roads in Oxford were extremely busy during the day but cleared in the afternoon.

Roads and motorways in the rest of the county are expected to be clear over the Easter break with most holidaymakers taking a weekend break expected to have travelled yesterday. Road chaos in county floods alert FLOOD CHAOS: Grahame Handley By SIMON BURCH

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