Wiltshire Council says it is hard at work to help prevent future floods from happening.

2024 has seen some of the worst flooding in recorded history for Wiltshire, with storms leaving streets submerged in both January and September, with smaller road flooding taking place throughout the year.

On Tuesday, September 24, benches and bins in Beach Terrace, Calne, were left almost entirely underwater after murky flood water poured into the street.

A similar situation took place in Marlborough in early January when residents were evacuated from their homes on rafts and taken to safety in the town hall.

Wiltshire Council has revealed the steps it has taking to prevent future floods.

Floods swept through Calne in September 2024Floods swept through Calne in September 2024 (Image: Trevor Porter) Each year, approximately 60,000 gullies are emptied out across the county to prevent blockages, but these efforts have now been upped.

"We have also now identified around 5,000 high-risk gullies that are cleaned twice annually," said Councillor Nick Holder, Cabinet Member for Highways, Streetscene and Flooding.

“We work hard throughout the year to prevent flooding and take decisive action to alleviate flooding when it occurs.

“During the recent flooding, we deployed all of our Parish Stewards and Area Highways officers to support our regular crews to monitor any localised flooding and take action as appropriate by clearing debris and resolving any highways flooding.

“We have increased the number of high-pressure jetting machines that are deployed to deal with reports from our communities and town and parish councils from one to three, while another three tankers operate our scheduled cleaning programme.

Marlborough was submerged by Storm Henk floods in January 2024Marlborough was submerged by Storm Henk floods in January 2024 (Image: SWNS)

“Where owners are aware that their property may be at risk of flooding we would advise them to consider fitting property level flood protection such as demountable flood barriers fitted across doorways which can be an effective solution."

Wiltshire Council is now encouraging anyone who notices issues on the roads, including blocked gullies that could become a hazard and flood properties, to report them immediately.

This can be done by visiting the MyWilts app, website, or by calling the council on 0300 456 0105.