Flood-hit communities rally together in Shaw and Newbury today (Thurs)

Properties in Wellington Close were first flooded over the weekend and this morning (Thurs) gardens and garages were once again filling with water.
Brother and sister Ian Robinson and Tanya Bareham (pictured, top right)

were attempting to shovel several inches of floodwater from the garage of their parent’s home while their father Mick Robinson was helping to direct traffic on Kiln Road, which was partly obstructed by a Thames Water pump.
Despite a collective effort by the Wellington Close residents, who on Monday had sourced their own pump to remove water from gardens, Mr Robinson’s garden was once again under around 2ft of water.
Mr Robinson Jr said: “We have got the whole family out in force.
“We are taking the decision in about an hour’s time to see if we stop doing this and let the weather do its natural thing.
“It’s coming from the fields, it’s not coming from the river.”
In Newbury, Shaw Road resident Emma Wood (pictured, second, with her daughter Victoria)

was in the process of moving her furniture out of her home in a bid to protect it from the River Lambourn, which was flooding into her home.
Over the weekend her family had placed several hundred sandbags around the property, but they had provided little protection with groundwater also rising through the floors.
She has lived there for 30 years, and the only other time the property had been flooded was in 2007.
“That was flash flooding, that was up and back out,” she said. “This is sustained.
“The pump is only just keeping on top of it.
“I don’t think we can live with the stress anymore.”
Flooding across Shaw Road, at the junction with Hutton Close, is causing queuing traffic to form as motorists stop to give way to oncoming traffic.
Victoria ward councillor at West Berkshire Council, Roger Hunneman (Lib Dem), said he had been pushing the authorities to close the road, as some traffic was passing at a speed which was pushing the floodwater into nearby properties.
Newbury town councillor Tony Stretton (Con, Clay Hill), said he was having the same problem in areas such as Walton Way and was urging motorists to slow down.
“We are trying to clear the water here but people are just not caring about the water on the road surface,” he said.
Also in Newbury, Schöffel employees were placing sandbags along the River Lambourn, with the help of working cocker spaniel Jack (pictured, third), after it had began to flood the Newbury Business Park carpark yesterday (Weds).
The carpark had been pumped and in total 190 sandbags had been laid out.
So far, Sovereign Housing has evacuated 11 residents from properties threatened by flooding.
Seven residents, six of them with learning difficulties, were moved out yesterday (Weds), and three vulnerable residents were taken to flats at Redwood House, Hungerford.
Two residents in Cromwell Road, Shaw, had also been evacuated earlier in the week.
The regional director for Berkshire at Sovereign, Nicole Sharp, said: “Although the homes of these vulnerable residents were not yet flooded, we took the proactive decision to move them to safety because of the imminent high risk of flooding and so reduce any distress.”
How is the flooding where you are?
Let us know by emailing your photographs to reporter Ellis Barker at ellis.barker@newburynews.co.uk