FLOOD hero John Kadwell spent 11 hours directing traffic away from four feet of flood water at Kingway Bridge.

Mr Kadwell, from Corston, was out cycling last Monday when he was alarmed to notice nothing warned motorists approaching from Malmesbury that the road to the motorway was blocked.

Mr Kadwell decide to alleviate the inevitable congestion by standing at the A429 Grange Lane turn-off outside Malmesbury. He directed the traffic to the M4 via Startley and Seagry, for eleven hours. The bridge remained closed until mid-morning Tuesday.

"Everyone was going round in circles, so I went to the police station to ask for a sign," said Mr Kadwell, a removal man.

Martin Snell, a firefighter, stood with him for most of the day and Mr Kadwell's wife Iris kept them supplied with tea, biscuits and sandwiches.

"I enjoy that sort of thing being active," he said. "It also got me out of decorating the bathroom."

Corston parish councillors will be asking police why a warning sign was not placed at Priory roundabout.