A heavy thunderstorm, which brought dramatic fork lightning and a deluge of rain, left residents counting the cost of a clear-up late last Friday afternoon. Parts of Chilcompton were underwater as the river engulfed the road, with fire crews and residents desperately and unsuccessfully trying to stop the water getting into homes. Long-term residents, who have lived in the village for between thirty and fifty years, said that they had never seen anything like it. Drains were unable to cope with the amount of water, prompting fears that the water may not be safe in areas such as Cautletts Close, Midsomer Norton, with the distinct smell of sewage, and others questioned whether these events will become more frequent with increased housebuilding in the area, with less space for water to soak away and planning applications passed for problematic or flood prone sites.

Speaking to The Journal this week, Chilcompton villager and Parish Clerk, Malcolm Rigby, said “It will be an afternoon that will be forever etched in my memory – the day the river became a beast! The afternoon that, despite a huge community effort, Chilcompton lost 1–0 to the floods.

“At first, it was just an electrical storm – I went outside in the rain to unblock the road drains, as you do when you live in the bottom bit of Chilcompton. But it stayed. You kept thinking that it would move on, surely; it moved away a little, but then kept coming back. Counting the gaps between lightning and thunder. Counting and hoping.

“The river, now a brown gurgling mess, kept rising inexorably. Inch by inch. When it was three inches short from the bridge I, with neighbour, Pete Sinclair, started to make homemade sandbags with Tesco plastic bags and soil. As soon as the water breached the road, it would be heading in one direction – towards our house.

“When it happened, the river literally tore the pavement apart, spilling out across the road, there was nothing but a one foot stone wall between the water and a very wet house. More people came to help now: people bringing improvised sandbags, people digging troughs in the lawn to direct the water away, people baling. There must have been at least fifteen neighbours helping out.

“The water on the road was wellie-deep with a current strong enough to take your ankles and put you on the floor.

“Eventually the cavalry arrived: two fire engines, two police cars and a lorry from local builders merchants, AJ Champion, with proper sandbags. But sadly, I suspected, too late.

“About four hours after the rain had started, the water had been directed and pumped away from the front of the house; I took a brief moment to empty my wellies. We opened up the front door to find ruined carpets, but it could have been much worse and I have many people to thank. The stench was awful and still is.

“I heard one policeman say: “It’s good to see a community looking after each other.”

“Within a couple of days, the river was back to its gentle, beautiful self – like a teenager, all apologetic, after a day of behaving badly – “Sorry, mum, it won’t happen again!”