Mother and baby rescued as homes are flooded and roads blocked

WEST Somerset may have escaped the worst of the recent horrendous weather, but the heavy rainfall still brought misery and discomfort to many local people.
In one incident, a mother and baby were rescued from a farmhouse near Coleford Water, Stogumber, by a Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service team.
The rescue happened on Monday, June 25, when Lydeard St Lawrence was one of the worst affected communities as many homes and other properties were flooded.
Up to four feet of floodwater engulfed the village and carried with it raw sewage which was thought to have been swept out of the local sewerage treatment works.
The drama unfolded in the darkness of the early hours of the morning.
Fire and rescue services were alerted at 2.40 am but were unable for the first two hours to reach families caught up in the emergency until the water began to recede.
It took a further three hours to pump out properties and make them safe.
Many local roads were impassable in an area stretching to Bishops Lydeard and Wiveliscombe, and there were also a number of minor landslides.
A number of homes in nearby Combe Florey were also flooded.
The return of the Britain’s Strongest Man contest to Minehead coincided with the start of heavy rainfall in the area and the event quickly became labelled ‘Britain’s Wettest Man’.
West Somerset Council came to the rescue with the loan of a number of small marquees to allow the competition to go ahead on a rain swept sea front.

• Our photograph shows the Church of St Lawrence, in Lydeard St Lawrence. Photo submitted.

Woman in custody for alleged arson in Watchet house

A WATCHET woman has been arrested on suspicion of arson following a fire at a house in the town on the night of Wednesday, May 16.
Firemen wearing breathing apparatus had to rescue a woman trapped by the blaze in the terraced house in South Road after being alerted at about 10.20 pm.
They were called to the property after neighbours were alerted by the sound of a smoke alarm.
The kitchen of the house was ablaze and smoke was billowing from the first floor of the property, where a woman was found to be still inside one of the bedrooms.
She was rescued but not found to have suffered any injuries.
The firefighters used four sets of breathing apparatus and two hose reel jets to put out the fire and ventilate the property. The incident was brought under control within about half-an-hour.
Later, police took a 28-year-old woman into custody at Taunton Police Station to be held on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.
Three fire engines attended the incident, two from Williton and one from Minehead, plus a command support vehicle from Wiveliscombe.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said there was fire damage to the kitchen and the dining room floor, with 20 per cent smoke damage to the remainder of the building.