A town council dealing with the aftermath of mass flooding has made a decision on its Christmas events set to take place this week.

On Monday, November 25, Chippenham was hit by some of the worst floods the town has seen since the late 1960s, as the River Avon burst its banks due to Storm Bert.

The town was unpassable as key roads were left underwater and flood water lapped at the doors of town centre shops, homes and businesses.

All shops and businesses on the High Street closed, including the Emery Gate shopping centre which announced it would be closed "until further notice" due to flooding.

"There is NO access for vehicles nor persons on foot through Chippenham town centre, Bridge centre or Avenue La Fleche to and from Pewsham," said a spokesperson for Wiltshire Police.

Chippenham was one of the worst hit towns in WiltshireChippenham was one of the worst hit towns in Wiltshire (Image: Andrew Hughes) The storm hit during the same week that several Christmas events were set to take place in Chippenham, including the Festive Fringe event and the Christmas lights switch-on event.

Chippenham Town Council has been forced to make difficult decisions.

A spokesperson for the town council said: "Storm Bert has caused the River Avon to burst its banks in Chippenham leaving the Town Centre, Monkton Park and surrounding roads completely flooded.

"This will have a massive impact on the town and will take some time for the clean-up and repair work to be completed.

"The installation of our Christmas Island and Festive Fringe event in partnership with Melt Productions was due to start today, Monday 25 November, on Island Park in Monkton Park ready for opening to the public on Thursday 28 November. Sadly, this area has been flooded making the event installation impossible.

Chippenham Christmas lights switch-on 2023Chippenham Christmas lights switch-on 2023 (Image: Newsquest) "We have made the only decision we can at this time, which is to cancel the event, which is very disappointing for us all as we know it is a much-loved community event for the town."

But Chippenham's Christmas Light Switch-on event, due to take place on Saturday November 30, is currently scheduled to go ahead as usual and residents hope it can bring some Christmas cheer to a town dealing with devastation.

As of Tuesday, November 26, the majority of roads in Chippenham have reopened and the town centre has been largely cleared of water.

However, Sheldon School, Abbeyfield School, and Hardenhuish School remain closed, along with many High Street businesses.