STUNNED householders and businesses were today trying to assess the damage caused by some of the worst flooding this century.

Hundreds of Oxfordshire properties were affected after downpours which saw the average rainfall for April fall in just 24 hours. The cost of mopping up the damage across the county is likely to run into millions of pounds.

Up to three inches of rain poured into water courses, swelling the River Cherwell, the River Thames and the Oxford Canal.

The resulting flooding forced emergency services to evacuate at least 350 people from their Oxfordshire homes.

Around 150 residents, mostly elderly, were led from their homes in Kidlington during Friday night.

Houses in Queens Avenue, Cherwell Avenue, Evans Lane and Mill End - including Richard Branson's luxury home - were standing in up to two feet of water on Saturday.

Many of the pensioners spent the night in makeshift beds at Gosford Hill School at Oxford Road, Kidlington, before being found temporary accommodation by Oxfordshire County Council.

Evacuee Martin Moss, 67, of Queens Avenue, said the water was higher than the famous floods of 1947. He said: "There was more snow in 1947 but this is worse for flooding. It came up so quickly and the worst is still to come when we have clear it up."

The British Red Cross drafted in 200 Oxfordshire members to provide hot meals with food donated from Tesco, Sainsbury's and Boots. Local shops lent games and books.

About 100 homes were also evacuated in Banbury on Thursday night.

Bryan Utteridge, head of flood defence at the Environment Agency, said nothing more could have been done to avert the floods.

He added: "In the business we take our measure on the great flood of 1947 and the sort of levels we saw were in excess of 1947.

"This is new territory. It happened very quickly.

"We had a month's rainfall in 24 hours and ten days into April we have already had double the month's average. It's pretty grim."

Mr Utteridge said Britain now had one of the best flood warning systems in Europe, having invested £1.5m in new technology.

In Wantage, a pub storeroom was flooded when a nearby stream burst its banks in the early hours of Saturday.

Landlord Andy Chalmers discovered the floor of the storeroom at the Lamb Inn, Mill Street, was covered in water.

Sandbags provided by Vale of White Horse District Council were used to try and stem the flow of the water into the pub and Wantage firefighters spent an hour pumping out water that was already inside.

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