Live Reporting
Edited by Richard Greenaway, Emma Hallett, Chris Kelly, Bethan Evans. Written by Leigh Boobyer and Dawn Limbu.
Thank you for readingpublished at 18:58 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
18:58 GMT 25 November
That's all from our team of reporters in the West of England today.
There will be more travel and weather information on your local BBC radio station tomorrow morning.
Waiting for the water to subsidepublished at 18:41 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
18:41 GMT 25 November
Image source, Gus McKayGus McKay lives in Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire.
“I spoke to the local barbers. He had done what he could do prevent damage but his business is ruined," he tells the BBC.
He adds that the inside of an estate agent, the tea rooms, and an Italian restaurant are flooded.
“People have been given sand bags now, but it’s too late," he says.
“Now we are just waiting for the water levels to subside to start the clean up."
Water receding on Chippenham High Streetpublished at 18:26 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
18:26 GMT 25 November
Neil Beck
BBC Radio WiltshireWater levels on Chippenham High Street have now fallen considerably.
Despite this, water is still pooling on the lower section of the road, as these images show.
Still some disruption to rail servicespublished at 18:06 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
18:06 GMT 25 November
GWR and Cross Country have warned of some disruption to their rail services in the West for the rest of the day.
Earlier trains were unable to reach the region from London because of floodwater, but service has since resumed. People wanting to travel are being urged to check train times online before heading to the station.
Chippenham centre still floodedpublished at 17:49 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
17:49 GMT 25 November
Marie Indge
BBC WiltshireSpeaking to Graham Rogers on BBC Radio Wiltshire:
My parents used to tell me stories about the flooding in 1968 and George Flowers the scrapyard merchant bringing his lorries along and ferrying people from one side of the river to the other.
I've talked to local business owners and people coming down to have a look, and the mood is resilience and 'we will get through this'.
The message from the emergency services, Wiltshire Council and the Environment Agency is absolutely not to try and cross the water.
Houses flooded in Lydneypublished at 17:26 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
17:26 GMT 25 November
Alastair McKee
Reporting from Lydney"It's your whole life gone. I'm nearly 50. Everything I've worked for in my life is now ruined."
Dave King recently moved into his new house in Lydney, but was flooded at the weekend.
"It happened really fast," he said.
See AlsoHow to Live Stream on Facebook: A Complete Guide - PRIVATEPHOTOVIEWER.COMWhere Does the Phrase ‘May You Live In Interesting Times’ Actually Come From?Gukesh: Today was a good day!"The water was lapping on the drive and then within half an hour it was in the house. It's a real mess."
He added: "Some vulnerable people living nearby had to be rescued by emergency services on a raft."
Roads closed across the Westpublished at 17:09 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
17:09 GMT 25 November
There are a lot of road closures across the West today. Here is a brief overview of some of the disruption faced by commuters as we head into rush hour:
- Old Broughton Road, Melksham: Closed in both directions with severe delays due to flooding from A350 Western Way (Farmers roundabout) to Lidl
- A363 Bathford Bridge, Bradford on Avon: Closed in both directions due to flooding from Masons Lane to Silver Street
- A431 Bath Road, Kelston: Closed in both directions due to flooding from Blacksmiths Lane to Upton Cheyney turn off (Bitton)
- A363 St Margaret Street, Bradford on Avon: Closed in both directions due to flooding from Tithe Barn turning to Bath turn off
Rewilding of river questioned by councillorpublished at 16:49 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
16:49 GMT 25 November
Ross Hemming, Wiltshire councillor for Chippenham, has highlighted the ongoing consultation to 'rewild' the river through the town and remove the weir.
The proposed scheme, led by the Environment Agency, would see the removal of the aging radial gate and weir, and their replacement with smaller weirs.
"How will that affect situations like this in the future?" he said.
"I would have thought.. any flood water would go through Chippenham quicker if there was no barrier there."
"We'll all be looking at this. Crawling all over it. Why, how and what are the future implications."
Lydney pitches under waterpublished at 16:29 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
16:29 GMT 25 November
Alastair McKee
Reporting from LydneyLydney AFC turned up to play at the weekend and found their pitch was under more than a metre of water.
They are desperately worried about the finances of the club because they need to host football to keep going.
As it stands they cannot host football fans and they cannot open the bar.
It was also the same at Lydney RFC, which has flooded for the third time in four years.
Dramatic extent of Melksham floodingpublished at 16:12 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
16:12 GMT 25 November
Photos shared with BBC West by Melksham Independent News, external show the extent of the flooding in the town.
Melksham is one of several towns hit by severe flooding in the last couple of days.
The town sits either side of the River Avon.
Image source, Melksham Independent NewsImage source, Melksham Independent NewsImage source, Melksham Independent NewsImage source, Melksham Independent NewsImage source, Melksham Independent NewsImage source, Melksham Independent NewsConcerns about prolonged floodingpublished at 15:56 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
15:56 GMT 25 November
Karen Gardner
BBC WiltshireGeorge Kirby lives in Christian Malford, just upstream from Chippenham on the Avon.
He is concerned about the effect prolonged flooding will have on the community.
“This a vast amount of water," he said.
“If you see downstream especially into Chippenham, the weirs there are all flooded, so it just shows you the amount of water we’ve had.
"Last night it was okay to get through, however, this morning it was completely different."
Road under water in Hambridgepublished at 15:46 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
15:46 GMT 25 November
There's continuing travel disruption in Somerset this afternoon as a major route is under water.
The A37 is closed northbound because of flooding from Vagg Lane at Chil-thorne Dowmer to the B-3151 Yeovil Road at Ilchester.
There's also a lot of standing water on the A303 westbound. it's west of the junction with the A37 at Ilchester.
Third pub closes due to flooding on River Avonpublished at 15:42 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
15:42 GMT 25 November
There's also another pub - the Lock Keeper in Keynsham - which has closed due to flooding.
In a post on Facebook the venue said it hopes to be open on Tuesday.
It only reopened in March following damage from Storm Henk in January.
South Gloucestershire village 'trapped'published at 15:31 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
15:31 GMT 25 November
Beth Cruse
BBC News, West of EnglandI'm standing at the bottom of Winterbourne Down. The Damson Bridge is completely submerged under three feet of water.
I've been speaking to residents who say this is the worst flooding they've ever seen.
Winterbourne, Frampton Cotterell and Coalpit Heath are also affected by the ongoing closure of the A432 Badminton Road Bridge, which means people around here don't actually have any way of getting out of the village.
Henfield Road and Damson Bridge are shut because of the flooding and people are telling me they feel trapped.
I've spoken to one lady who said she tried to make a hospital appointment at Southmead Hospital in Bristol but she couldn't go because of the flooding at Frampton Cotterell. People are saying they also can't get to work and have to work from home.
The impact of Storm Bert is having a real knock-on affect here.
Two pubs close as river levels rise on the Avonpublished at 15:25 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
15:25 GMT 25 November
Two pubs close to the River Avon between Bristol and Bath have closed as river levels continue to rise.
The Swan in Swineford has closed after "rising water" began entering the building. To protect staff and customers staff took the decision to close.
The Old Lock and Weir near Hanham has the same problem saying it has become a "swimming pool overnight". It is now clearing water from the pub.
Image source, FacebookLatest on Somerset's roadspublished at 15:10 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
15:10 GMT 25 November
Somerset Council has received more than 350 call-outs for flooding.
184 fallen trees have been reported and crews are said to be working "flat out" around the county.
The council says several main roads are closed:
- A3088 closed due to clear-up: overturned lorry
- A37 Ilchester Road - road flooded
- A36 Beckington - road flooded
- A30 Hentsridge Marsh - road flooded
- B3227 Norton Fitzwarren - fallen tree blocking the road
- Limington Road Ilchester - road flooded
- Cuts Road East Lyng - road flooded
- Langport Road, Muchelney - road flooded
- New Road West Lyng - road flooded
Football club 'may not survive flooding'published at 14:57 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
14:57 GMT 25 November
These drone shots show the extent of the damage at Lydney Town Football Club in Gloucestershire, which has been badly affected by the flooding after the pitch and clubhouse were completely submerged in water.
Speaking to the BBC earlier, director of football Neil Hook said the football club "may not survive this".
"It's devastating to be honest," he said.
"It's a volunteer-run club, we put so much effort into everything we do."
Aerial footage shows extent of floodspublished at 14:35 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
14:35 GMT 25 November
New aerial footage shows the extent of flooding in two Wiltshire towns.
Rising waters in Bradford-on-Avon and Chippenham have put both town centres at a standstill - with the water level at Bradford-on-Avon the highest on record.
Emergency services have been working to help people in both towns.
Water level at Bradford-on-Avon highest on recordpublished at 14:28 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
14:28 GMT 25 November
The water level of the River Avon at Bradford-on-Avon has reached its highest point on record, measuring 3.43m (11.2ft), according to the government's flooding service, external.
Previously, the highest level recorded was 3.42m (11.22m), which was on Christmas Eve in 2013.
The top of the river's normal range is 1.58m.
Image source, Gov.ukTV personality Christine Hamilton's Wiltshire home floodedpublished at 14:15 Greenwich Mean Time 25 November
14:15 GMT 25 November
Image source, PA MediaMedia personality Christine Hamilton said Storm Bert brought the worst flooding in two decades into her kitchen, which was submerged in two inches of water.
Mrs Hamilton, who came third in the first series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2022, shared footage on social media of her husband, former Conservative MP Neil Hamilton, bailing water out of their home in Hullavington, Wiltshire, on Sunday evening.
"We were literally bailing out water constantly for three hours, just to try and keep the level down to what it was," Mr Hamilton said.
"We had two inches of water in the back kitchen, and then if we stopped bailing for two seconds, the water would climb even further."
Mrs Hamilton said some friends attempted to bring the couple a pump to help them remove the water, but it was "impossible" to reach the house due to flooding.
Image source, PA Media
