FLOOD victims in Wroughton have been given some relief as authorities have stepped in to solve the problem.

Residents in Baker’s Road have been overwhelmed by floods all week as water from the nearby Overtown reservoir has come gushing around their homes.

Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has been keeping the waters at bay with crews working shifts round the clock, but they have now handed control over to the Environment Agency, and Swindon Council are investigating the cause.

Holly Woodward, 53, said she is relieved progress is being made on a problem which had been recurring for years.

“People are beginning to understand what the problem is, and that is the first step,” she said.

“The fire brigade did a fantastic job, but they are not supposed to be standing around watching water being pumped.

“We have people from Swindon Council here looking at all the factors which are affecting the situation, including the state of the groundwater up stream.

“The water level is being held and is under control now, but they can’t turn off the pump. The one the Environment Agency brought in came all the way from London because they do not have one locally, and it is huge. It is the size of a caravan.

“The council officers are talking about where we can go from here, and it is now on their table as an active case. There has been a landslip up at the top of the hill over the last few days, and there has been a lot of sediment building up in the stream as a result.

“We are delighted somebody is taking this seriously and that this is a problem that is going to have to be solved. This has been a problem for a very long time, and we hope that we can get everybody round the table.”

A total of 350 sandbags have now been delivered to the area, and will have to act as a temporary defence until the issue is fixed.

“The mid-term solution will have to be the sandbags,” said Holly. “They have now been set up, and as far as the dwellings are concerned it is under control. But if we have another period of heavy rain people will not be able to get to their houses.

“We are under no illusions, it is going to take a while. Whatever they do will take several months to sort out.

“The worst part has been the stress of dealing with all this and getting all the different agencies to take it seriously. Things are now moving in the right direction.”