Freak flash flooding has caused thousands of pounds of structural damage in Minety leaving home owners devastated.

Residents in Hornbury Hill, Sawyers Hill and Silver Street said it felt like a wave had crashed in.

The water rising to a foot high in some gardens overpowered the drainage system and is said to be the worst ever in the village.

A severe storm caused surface water to spill over from fields into nearby properties.

Minety parish chairman David Brown, of Shelbourne Close, said it was the worst flooding in recent history.

Mr Brown said: "I went out and commiserated with my neighbours. There were at least four or five inches of standing water under the railway bridge. More and more new houses are in Minety now which means the water cannot be soaked up by the soil any more, and so it just runs into properties."

Timothy Edwards, landlord of the Turnpike pub, on Station Road, had to pump water out of his pub.

Mr Edwards said: "The water came in all directions. It filled downstairs with four or five inches. My friends from a garage brought a pump to help me but it still took hours to pump out. There was no damage to the property but a lot of fine silt mud was left. I have spent all morning sweeping it off. We have never had as much flooding as this in Minety.

Mr Edwards said ditches falling into disrepair had aggravated the flooding.

"As soon as somebody has a ditch on their property these days they fill it in and when rain comes, it flows down the road and we collect it.

"Water just cannot be soaked up properly by the clay foundations of new houses and so it overflows into our pub," said Mr Edwards.

He added although he had spoken to councillors nothing had been done.

County councillor Carole Soden said it was the responsibility of landowners to keep their ditches clear in future.

Coun Soden said: "Yesterday's flooding was phenomenal. There was nothing that could have stopped it. It was coming down so fast and it was bringing down a lot of debris."

One couple told how the damage will cost them around £2,500 to repair.

Julian Moules and his partner Hannah Good, from Station Hill, had just come back from consoling friends whose homes has been destroyed by the floods in the Cornish village of Boscastle last week.

They returned to find their own home saturated.

Their garden was approximately eight inches deep with water and overflowing sewage. Inside, the wooden floor in the living room had to be ripped up by Mr Moules, because the water had caused it to expand.

Mr Moules said: "We have lost everything we worked so hard for. Our washing machine, fridge freezer, computer and dishwasher have all been destroyed. On top lots of photos and important paperwork has been ruined.

When we came back from Cornwall we found the water a foot high in the garden. For us it was like we lived in a moat. "

Mr Moules and his partner had been renovating the property where they have lived for three years.

Malmesbury Fire Brigade sub officer Wayne Jones said 11 vehicles had helped householders around Malmesbury, Minety and Cricklade during the floods.

For the latest flood warning information, call the Meteorological Office flood line on (0845) 988 1188.