SUNDAY’S torrential rain caused widespread flash flooding in Alton and the surrounding villages.

Town councillors, East Hampshire District Council officers and the police were out in force trying to help residents shore up their properties and rescue drivers of vehicles that had become stranded in flood water on submerged roads.

Motorists were being turned away by police from attempting to drive through flood water on the A32 at the Newton Valence crossroads, just south of Farringdon, after a BMW became stranded, blocking the road.

The A31 was flooded at the southern end of Ropley, close to the Bishop’s Sutton roundabout, and the B3006 was under water at the bottom of Galley Hill in Selborne, where several vehicles came to grief trying to drive through.

In Alton Amery ward, councillor Mike Dicker was helping fellow residents deal with flash flooding on the Greenfields estate where it was all hands to the pumps to prevent water entering properties in Cherry Way and along Greenfields Avenue. According to Mr Dicker, the water was running off the fields at the top of the hill, threatening homes as it rushed down Southview Rise to flood Greenfields Avenue.

The spirit of teamwork kicked in as “wood, sand, pumps and plastic bags filled with whatever came to hand” was used to shore up drives in an effort to prevent the water entering people’s homes.

He said: “The biggest problem was with some drivers refusing to slow down‚ instead ploughing into the running water which pushed waves over the makeshift flood defences.”

The plea of residents fighting to keep the flood water at bay was for drivers to consider their speed when seeking to drive through flood water, wherever they may be.

Mr Dicker said that having contacted the EHDC emergency floodline, it took officers three hours to respond, adding that it was “not surprising due to the volume of calls they had to deal with on Sunday”.

The officers delivered some extra sandbags to the cause, which were followed up with a further delivery on Tuesday, courtesy of Surrey County Council.

Meanwhile, in Four Marks and Medstead district and county councillors Ingrid Thomas and Mark Kemp-Gee had their hands full trying to help people as the water gathered in Lymington Bottom Road and Five Ash Crossroads.

EHDC took sandbags out to help shore up properties to Lymington Bottom Road, as well at to Gracious Street in Selborne and Greenfields Avenue in Alton, all affected by surface water running off fields and higher ground and finding its way down to the lowest point.

Mr Thomas said of the flooding in Lymington Bottom Road: “On Sunday, Mark Kemp-Gee and I spent several hours with the residents looking at where the water was coming from and what could be done. Like all the residents I am extremely concerned that more building (along Lymington Bottom Road) will mean more flooding. I have yet to be convinced that the computer modelling done by developers who say that they will be able to contain water using engineering solutions on the estates will work. I really hope they are right.”

She added: “EHDC reacted swiftly when I telephoned to report the problem. The engineer arrived very quickly having already dealt with problems in Selborne. He provided sandbags and reassurance to the householders in danger of flooding and worked hard building the dams.”

On Monday, Mrs Thomas and Mr Kemp-Gee met with a Hampshire Highways representative to look at where the drains go and how they can be improved as a matter of urgency.

Together with his county colleague, Andrew Joy, who toured the town on Sunday to assess the problem and help where he could, Mr Kemp-Gee did the rounds of his rural patch, including Lower Farringdon, where residents were understandably nervous having suffered severe flooding in February 2014 when homes were under water and the A32 closed for two months.

While the work carried out at the time appeared to have withstood the pressure this time round, Mr Kemp Gee said that, following the 2014 experience, an A32 Flood Action Group had been set up, headed by East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds and supported by representatives from the villages of Farringdon, Chawton and Newton Valence affected by the flooding, the local authorities and the Environment Agency, to produce a programme of flood alleviation works.

Now the challenge is to raise the funding to support the works.

Flood Action Group vice-chairman Mr Kemp-Gee explained that, despite the presence of the Lavant stream – a winterbourne that rises in Farringdon during the winter months and runs through Chawton to Alton – the Environment Agency considers this flooding problem to be down to surface water run-off and not a major ground water issue, for which funding would have been forthcoming.

Commenting on Sunday’s flooding problems, an EHDC spokesman said that while in situations likes these it will do its best to help those most in need, it would encourage those who they may be at risk of flooding to make preparations to protect their property. Useful numbers, information, places to get sandbags and other ways of protecting property are available at easthants.gov.uk/flooding.

Hampshire Highways has confirmed that it had teams out across the county over the weekend. Emergency crews responded to 95 flood-related calls and removed 18 fallen trees on Sunday to make sure residents could go about their journeys on Monday morning.

With more rain forecast, Hampshire County Council is urging motorists to drive according to conditions, to check routes in advance, and not to take any risks.

The Environment Agency issues flood alerts and is responsible for rivers and streams while the county council is responsible for flooded roads.

To report flooding or obstructions on the road use the online form at hants.gov.uk or call the county council’s emergency hotline on 0800 807 060. To contact the Environment Agency Floodline, call 0345 9881188.