IT was like a scene from a disaster movie. Weathermen gave no indication of the scale of the deluge which was to strike Oxfordshire during 48 hours of the worst floods seen for generations.

Families valiantly struggled to protect their homes as the torrent turned streets into rivers and left people wading waist deep in water.

British Waterways spokesman Simon Ainley summed up residents' feelings of shock when he said: "It was like being caught in a disaster movie, without having a copy of the script."

The race against time started on Wednesday following severe storms in the Midlands which led to swollen waterways. The tidal wave of water rushed southwards towards Oxfordshire. Engineers reacted by opening a flood gate on the Oxford Canal at Claydon, north of Banbury.

The gates were opened slightly to let water through - but they could not cope with the volume and caused localised flooding.

The following day the water level rose by 11 inches in four hours. A second canal flood gate at Cropredy, also north of Banbury, was then opened, followed by a further five every five miles between Banbury and Oxford.

By Friday, residents in Banbury were being forced from their homes as the tidal wave of flooding swept south as the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal burst their banks. By this time most privately-owned weirs had been opened on the river to stop water levels rising even further - but worse was to come.

Kidlington was next.

By Friday night, part of the village was submerged as firefighters and emergency services fought a vain battle to stop even more water rushing into homes.

Hundreds of people were forced from their homes and police mounted extra patrols in evacuated areas to guard against looters.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Peter MacGregor said firefighters waded to and from homes to rescue pensioners and small children.

He described the scene: "The canal and the river both burst their banks at the same time.

"We knew it was going to hit likely predicted areas, but in my view it was a natural phenomenon."

ACO MacGregor said the torrent was just a few hours from hitting Oxford city centre - but thankfully the rain subsided.

But flooded-out villagers at Kidlington are demanding a public inquiry into the way the situation was handled.

A detailed investigation into flood defences along the River Cherwell, Oxford Canal and on nearby roads will now take place. The canal has sets of submerged gates, which look like three-foot wide sliding doors and are opened or closed to control water flow.

They are operated by hand using levers which can be turned manually from the canalside by British Waterways staff.

Five different sets are situated a mile south of Banbury, at King's Sutton, Upper Heyford, Lower Heyford and Thrupp.

The river has a series of nine privately-owned weirs, all of which have barriers which can be raised or lowered to control the flow of water.

They are owned and operated manually by landowners. The Environment Agency gives them advice on when to use them, but has no direct control over them.

The weirs are situated at intervals between Banbury and Oxford - at King's Sutton, Clifton, North Aston, Somerton Crossing, Lower Heyford, Enslow Gorge, Kidlington Mill, Flights Mill and King's Mill in Oxford University Parks.

The call for an inquiry came after British Waterways engineer Andrew Grimmett was reported as saying that workers opened a series of canal gates to reduce flooding in Banbury and limit damage on the canal.

But bosses at British Waterways and the Environment Agency later denied it.

British Waterways spokesman Simon Ainley said: "We have huge sympathy for the people of Kidlington but they were fated.

"There was nothing more we could have done, given the scale of this natural disaster." All hands to the pump A TEAM of emergency workers swung into action across the county after the floods struck.

Among the statistics from the weekend of chaos, there were:

150 firefighters in action

150 emergency calls

20,000 Army sandbags issued by the MoD

250 main meals served

1,000 cups of tea served

300 people rescued Diary of the deluge WEDNESDAY PM: Two canal floodgates opened at Claydon, north of Banbury, following severe weather warning

THURSDAY AM: Water levels rise 11 inches in four hours; floodgate opened on canal at Cropredy, north Banbury

THURSDAY PM: Five more gates - at five-mile intervals along the canal - opened between Banbury and Oxford one after the other; Banbury struck by floods

FRIDAY: All private weirs opened on River Cherwell - at King's Sutton, Clifton, North Aston, Somerton, Lower Heyford, Enslow, Kidlington, Flights Mill and King's Mill

FRIDAY NIGHT: Kidlington struck by floods

FRIDAY 10PM: It is forecast Oxford to be flooded within hours

SATURDAY EARLY HOURS: Oxford gets the all-clear as storm subsides

SUNDAY: Big clean-up begins

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