DRIVERS were stranded and homes were drenched in Grove and East and West Hanney last week, but villagers pulled together to fight the floods.

Motorists were stranded in the Hanneys after being diverted and were taken in for the night by residents.

At least a dozen houses in East Hanney flooded when water from Letcombe Brook flooded roads between the village hall and the school and around the British Legion club. West Hanney was also badly affected.

Residents in Grove experienced flooding, with at least ten houses taking in water.

The village green area, Sharland Close, Cane Lane and Kingfishers were flooded with about two feet of water, while a wooden footbridge in Denchworth Road was washed away.

Graham Mundy, the Grove parish clerk, said: "It was certainly the worst a lot of residents have ever seen."

In Wantage, Mill Street was worst hit. The Lamb pub will be closed for a month while repair work is carried out and the cellar of the Shears pub was waist deep in water on Friday, damaging the beer cooler.

Ground floor flats on Mill Street and The Mill were also badly affected, although the extent of the damage is not yet known.

Diane Witts, who lives just off Main Street, East Hanney, took in a family of four with a six-month-old baby for the night.

She said: "We gave them numerous cups of coffee and sandwiches and ordered pizza for us all on the Saturday night. They seemed quite calm because I think they realised hundreds of other people were affected, but they were getting quite stressed by Saturday night because the AA still hadn't come.

"Friday was a nightmare because there were so many abandoned cars. We had cars broken down in our driveway and in the road."

The family, on their way to Lincolnshire from Southampton, found themselves stranded in East Hanney along with many other drivers after police diverted them through the village because of problems on the A34.

The Plough pub took in six drivers who slept in the pub on makeshift beds. Landlady Ann Cooper said: "Everybody just mucked in and got on with it."

Steve Kendall's house in East Hanney flooded with a foot of water in places leaving thousands of pounds damage.

He said: "It was definitely the worst we have ever seen. We have lost our leather sofa and some electrical equipment. There has been damage to our wooden flooring as well as tide marks all around the walls.

"All the water has gone now but there is a stale damp smell everywhere and we have to keep the windows open."

Angela Cousins, a resident of West Hanney, said: "It was just the unexpectedness of it all. It was the speed the water rose which was so alarming."