Events

For updates after 17:00 on Friday 20 July, please tune into BBC Radio Berkshire on 104.1, 104.4, 95.4 and 94.6 or listen live online via bbc.co.uk/berkshire

Torrential rain in Berkshire today (Friday 20 July 2007) means parts of the county are on flood watch and commuters are facing long delays on the roads.

See below for the latest flood-related news.

See our Berkshire flood photo gallery here, which will be updated each time we are sent more photos.

Got a flood story? Send your reports and photos from your area in Berkshire to:

17:00

Across the county councils have been offering advice - and emergency help - for people affected by the floods.

A joint emergency control centre has been opened in Windsor Police Station from where the council is overseeing operations.

Worst affected has been the Wootton Way area of Maidenhead where homes have been flooded.

Vulnerable people who are unable to help themselves can ask the council for sandbags - other residents are being told to create a barrage outside doors and windows.

Reading Borough Council have closed the town's museum and it will remain shut until Tuesday.

And Wokingham Borough Council has teams of offcials distributing sandbags to homes under threat of flooding - the Emmbrook has burst its banks in several places and the River Loddon is expected to rise still further over the weekend.

16:50

Commuters stuck at Reading Station, which still has a power cut, are frustrated at the lack of information at the station and lack of emergency bus services.

16:40

From Wokingham borough council:

"The Emmbrook has burst its banks in several places and with limited additional rain expected over the weekend, it is possible that the River Loddon will continue to rise."

Mole Road in Sindlesham is blocked.

A33 from Basingstoke side has been reopened.

Hermitage High Street is under water.

B4009 from Hermitage to Newbury is closed.

16:00

Roads still closed: The A34 is closed at Newbury, the A33 is closed at Chineham, the A4 at Thatcham is closed, Cow lane in Reading is closed and the main road through Pangbourne is closed.

15:45

Improvement on M4 eastbound, Junction 12 to 13, the landslip is no longer too serious, so roads are open. Westbound is still stacking back to J8/9.

Problems on M3 this evening - Bagshot Lightwater Tunnel this evening/

A34 round Chievely still closed in both directions.

A339 and most of areas around Newbury still gridlocked.

Stationary traffic on A33 both ways.

15:20

Cow Lane Bridges in Reading has been sealed off.

15:15

Patrick Evans emailed in to say Nicholson's shopping centre in Maidenhead seems to be open, they just have one entrance sandbagged but other than that the town centre's functioning normally.

15:12

Around a hundred children at Aldermaston Primary are being evacuated by boat this afternoon, after they became trapped in the school when flood waters rose outside.

15:00

Travel update:

Tree down on the Oxford Road.

M4 - Flooded in both directions between 13 and 14 - effectively closed between the junctions with around two feet of water to wade your way through - lots of cars have flooded electrics.

M4 eastbound Junction 10 and 11 is slow through the Reading turns - hard shoulder is flooded with surface water on carriageway.

Highways Agency say they've incident support units deployed on M4 in Berkshire to try and clear some of the surface water.

The Highways Agency say the A34 is closed in both directions because of flooding at the M4 Newbury Junction.

A329 High Street both ways closed due to flooding between A340 Church Road and Purley on Thames

Windsor Relief Road - B481 at Highmoor flooded - still passable with care.

FIRST GREAT WESTERN - READING - POWER FAILURE - Services are also suspended on First Great Western between Reading and Gatwick Airport due to flooding at Ash Passengers are advised not to travel.  Only limited road transport is currently available

More Disruption on FGW and Virgin Trains between Reading and Coventry due to signalling problem at Banbury - Services are now on the move within the area, however delays and alterations can be expected
                                                       
Delays possible on First Great Western between Slough and Windsor and Eton Central due to earlier signalling problem. Tickets being accepted on South West Trains services between Windsor and Eton Riverside and London Waterloo Services are now able to run through the area. However, some residual delays reported.

A33 outside Basingstoke closed.

RG2 area of Reading is completely flooded.

14:30

Elaine Ward, from First Great Western trains, has been speaking to us. Her advice is:

"With the amount of rain and flooding we're advising customers not to travel with us - it's particularly bad in the Reading and Newbury area.

"If you haven't set out, then don't travel."

14:10

Didcot train station is now shut.

There's a total power cut at Reading Station. Trains westbound are queuing from London.

Caller Trevor spoke on BBC Radio Berkshire from the M4: "I'm halfway between Junction 12 and Junction13, the two carriageways have got very different situations.

"As you're heading from Reading towards Newbury westbound, the water was at the top of cars' wheels,

"You've got the rather distressing scene looking across of people trapped in vehicles as the water is rising.

"On the other carriageway, eastbound, you've got what looks like the remnants of a landslide, there's rocks and boulders and absolutely masses of large stones in the carriageway.

"Police are aware and have helicopters on route to try and rescue people who are trapped there."

"The police are shutting the motorway in both directions.

"It's absolute chaos."

13:30

Thames Valley Police have set up a special control room in Maidenhead.

13:20

Brand new headquarters Vodafone is one of the worst hit places in Newbury by Love Lane and the A339.

One staff member there said: "There's about 3000 cars stuck in the carpark because they can't get out either side of the road.

"There is still power in the building even though the ground floor is flooded by about two inches."

"Nobody anticipated that Love Lane would be bonnet-deep."

13:19

M4 flooded between Junction 13 and 14, between Chievely and through to the Hungerford turn, in both directions is very badly flooded.

The Highways Agency say they have incident support units heading to the M4 to try an clear away some of the surface water.

A404 roundabout near A4130 for Henley is extremely badly flooded.

A4 at Thatcham badly flooded.

13:15

The Forbury roundabout off Napier Road has flooded.

13:05

The A4 in Maidenhead is now under three feet of water.

13:00

Latest school closures:

SANDHURST:
Owlsmoor Primary School

MAIDENHEAD:
Boyne Hill Infants
Furze Platt Infants
Holyport Primary School
Maidenhead Nursery School

WINDSOR:
Trinity St. Stephens
Windsor Boys

WOKINGHAM:
St. Dominic's Avio

NEWBURY:
Trinity Secondary and Performing arts school.

BASINGSTOKE:
Four Lanes Infant School.

READING:
Downsway Primary in Tilehurst
Theale Primary

Shinfield St Mary's School is closed due to flooding and their after school club has been cancelled.

Micklands Primary School is fine but one of the access ways is flooded so when parents come to collect please use either All Hallows Road or Wood Road but NOT Micklands Lane as it is completely impassable.

At Calcot Infants and Nursery School....parents are being asked to collect their children as soon as possible.

13:00

East Berkshire reporter Roger Stamp: "I'm on Wootten Way in Maidenhead, this residential road runs along a very small valley in the town. There's a housing estate built here in the late 1950s early 1960s and around 60 of the houses have been flooded.

"I'd like to talk to some of the poeple who are stranded in these houses, unfortunatelu I'm on one side of Wootten Way, they're on the other side, between us there is a lake of water around two feet deep and the water is still spewing out of the drains here which just appear not to be able to cope.

"The people shouting across the road to me have complained that the councikl haven't provided any sandbags and not helped them at all.

"This situation is very unusual. I've lived in this town for 40 years I've never seen anything like this."

12:55

Reports of the ground floor of Vodafone headquarters in Newbury has flooded and that staff are without power.

12:36

Reports of the A33 closed off Junction 11 of the M4.

12:25

Maidenhead Nursery has closed.

Saint Dominic Savio School in Woodley Driveway has flooded and is closing.

There is flooding around the area of St Mary's Church Of England Primary School in Shinfield. Parents are urged to collect their children.

12:00

Maggie Philbin is down at Craven Road in Newbury:

"Craven Road has become a river. The houses are completely waterlogged. I'm inside one now with Campbell and Saskia, I'm up to my ankles in water inside the house through the floorboards. We've tried our level best to keep the water outside with sandbags but to no avail.

"We're trying our best to raise everything above the water, we've got furniture standing on blocks.

Campbell Murray: "We need the fire brigade badly, they came out last time and sorted out the problem out for us and today they're not evening answering the phone."

11:40

Summary update

Schools closed:

MAIDENHEAD:
Boyne Hill Infants
Furze Platt Infants

WINDSOR:
Trinity St. Stephens
Windsor Boys

NEWBURY:
Trinity Secondary and Performing Arts school

BASINGSTOKE:
Four Lanes Infant School

Fire and Rescue say they've been inundated with calls since about 8am this morning and have had to draft in extra staff to deal with the volume of calls.

A spokeswoman has told us they are now only attending incidents where someone's life is in danger, there is a fire or automatic fire alarms.

They're asking householders who're flooded to only dial 999 if they're in danger or if the water is more than 6 inches deep otherwise they should call their local council.

Maidenhead has been the worst affected part of the county. At least 30 homes flooded and council handing out sandbags.

Maidenhead's main shopping centre, Nicholson Walk, is shut as is Marks and Spencers and several other town centre stores. The Shop Mobility scheme has been abandoned for the day.

11:25

Flooding on the Bath Road in Reading near Calcot is causing traffic delays.

11:00

Around 20 homes have been flooded in the Wootten Way area of Maidenhead. Windsor and Maidenhead borough council have been handing out sandbags and officials are advising people to stay out of Maidenhead.

10:50

Basildon Park near Pangbourne has been closed because the shops and car park are flooded.

10:45

Rob Alexander from the Environment Agency says: "We've had over one inch of rain so far and we're expecting between two and three inches to come for the rest of today."

On a brighter note he said most people can expect a dry day tomorrow.

10:35

The Goring And Streatley Regatta has been cancelled because the river Thames has reached a dangerous height.

10:00

West Berkshire reporter Patrick O' Hagan says: "Maidenhead is gridlocked, the bath Road between the town centre  and the thicket rounabout on the A4 is swimming water and cars are having to crawl along so they don't find themselves flooding their engines."

9:45

Dan Williams from Maidenhead sent in this photo and wrote:

We came to work in Maidenhead today to find a foot of water in the road, and water pouring into the basement carpark.

After taking our shoes and socks off to wade to the office, we were told to go home - ah well, it's nice to have an extra day off in the summer, eh?

This photo is of the road outside the station, and thankfully the train runs along the bridge, high above the flooding, so hopefully we can get home ok.

9:35

Windsor Boys School has closed.

Headteacher: "All the roads around the school area are all flooded and we've had a series of boys actually controlling the traffic in the area.

"Half of our school is about a foot under water at the moment."

9:30

M4 Junction 6 westbound still slow as a result of flooding.

Clockwise on the M25,  the sliproad to the eastbound M4 causing delays due to an accident and 400 metres further a tanker has broken down.

A404M from Junction 8/9 up to Thames crossing delayed due to flooding.

Around Maidenhead, Cox Green an Woodlands Park gridlocked due to flooding.

9:15

Craig Steeres here is making the most out of the flooding outside his home near Windsor.

8:40

Accident on A329M towards Bracknell involving three cars. One has ended up between the two carriageways. Accident has happened near the exit to move on to the M4.

8:30

Junction 8/9 and M25 - delays due to serious surface water.

Serious flooding on A404M from 8/9 up to Thames Crossing. Bisham roundabout only passable with care.

Several cars are stranded by the roundabout at the top of Burchett's Green Road.

8:15

Furze Platt Infants School is closed due to flooding. Classrooms, hallways and the kitchen has flooded because the school is on a slope.

8:00

Delays on the M4 due to flooding and poor visibility, the worst of the problems are junction 8/9 in Maidenhead and junction 5 for Langley.

Just after junction 7, the inside of the eastbound carriageway is completely flooded.

7:00

The Environment Agency has issued alerts for the rivers Kennet, Loddon and Pang this morning, but say there's no immediate threat.

There's no alert for the Thames in Berkshire so far.

Experts say there could be up to 4 inches of rain today...with flooding a real possibility in many parts of the country.

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Call Floodline on 0845 988 1188 for real-time flood warnings and advice.