Flood waters leave motorists stranded

MOTORISTS in Dunmow were involved in a swathe of flooding incidents across the county over the weekend. On Sunday, the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) received 40 flood-related calls starting at around 8am – a handful of those incidents inclu

MOTORISTS in Dunmow were involved in a swathe of flooding incidents across the county over the weekend.

On Sunday, the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) received 40 flood-related calls starting at around 8am - a handful of those incidents included motorists in the Dunmow area who were stranded in high water.

A spokesman for the ECFRS said: "Crews attended incidents in the Buttsbury Wash, Ingatestone and in the Billericay area. All involved motorists stranded in their vehicles in flood water. There were similar incidents in Little Waltham and Dunmow.

"Officers were sent to incidents ahead of crews to assess the situation and see if crews could help. Obviously, because all areas of the county were saturated, it proved impossible for firefighters to pump water away.

The spokesman added: "In general, ECFRS will only respond to calls involving potential life risk. Some of those calls involved people trapped in vehicles, others involve electrics affected by water. Calls also included roads and homes flooded and drains blocked.

"Some callers to ECFRS control requested crew's assistance to tow vehicles from flooded roads. These callers were referred to roadside assistance companies."

Currently the River Chelmer remains high, and parts of Great Easton have been cut off. But with a dry spell expected over the next 24 hours serious flooding around the area is likely to be avoided.