THE owner of a charity bookshop in Nether Stowey has thanked the councillor who helped save his home from flooding.

Mervyn Todd, trustee of charity Books for Life, praised the swift action of Cannington councillor Ian Dyer, who helped organise for sandbags to be brought into the village which flooded on December 23.

Mr Todd said: “The brook that flows down St Mary Street suddenly became a torrent and we watched with horror as we realised that the bookshop and house were going to be flooded. We could not contact anybody to get sandbags from highways or locally.

“We remembered Cllr Dyer had come to the rescue in Cannington during the 2012 floods and we telephoned him and spoke to him personally. Within 20 minutes a car arrived with bags of sand obtained from Grandfields and a young man started filling bags with sand.

“At 75 years old I am not now able to do that type of energetic work but was able to put some wooden barriers across our entrance and gathered turf to stop the water flowing under the barrier.

“If it had not been for the help of Cllr Dyer our 16th Century house and shop would have suffered more damage than it already has through the ground water being so high. The rest of the afternoon was spent securing the other cottages and garage being flooded.”

Mr Todd said the torrent that flooded over the bridges continued for three days, making pavements inaccessible.