BRIDGWATER has been on flood alert in the wake of Storm Eleanor as water levels on the River Parrett have been creeping up.

Early morning pictures of high water passing under Bridgwater Bridge have been taken as the Environment Agency warns flooding remains possible.

Sedgemoor District Council has raised the flood barrier, near Blake Gardens, before the storm hit Somerset on Tuesday night.

A council spokesman said: "In advance of predicted high tides and weather warnings over the coming few days, Sedgemoor District Council has installed the flood barrier in Blake Gardens. 

Bridgwater Mercury:

The Environment Agency map which shows flood alerts in place

“This is a precautionary measure to make sure that the homes in St Saviours Avenue are protected. 

"The barrier will be removed on January 5."

Faye Hackling, who took the picture, was stuck in traffic when she noticed the high water levels and decided to pull over.

She said: "I had the opportunity to pull in and get out of my car to take a picture'

"I think I've only seen the river that high a couple of years ago when the Somerset levels were flooding."

The Environment Agency had issued a flood alert for Lower Tone and Parrett Moors.

Councillor Kathy Pearce, who represents Bridgwater Westover, said because of safety precautions there have been no flood breaches.

But she said it is not unusual to see water levels this high (main picture) at this time of the year.

Bridgwater Mercury:

Flooding in St Saviours Avenue on January 3, 2014 (Jeff Searle)

She said: “There is a plan for when there are alerts which seem to be working. The Blake Gardens gate has been raised once before. It was put in place following previous bad floods we had.

“You get to that point where you think, ‘my goodness, is it going to go over or not’? But this is not an unusual occurrence at this time of the year."

Widespread warnings for floods and wind across the South West were in place ahead of the arrival of Storm Eleanor.

Somerset was spared the full wrath of the storm compared to other parts of the UK where 80-100mph winds caused devastation.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: "Water levels in the River Parrett vary considerably and (the high water) passing under Bridgwater Bridge is not unusual for this time of the year when a combination of high tides and strong winds can cause levels to rise. This is usually when water flowing down the river is held back by the incoming tide preventing it from discharging into the Severn estuary.

"Bridgwater’s flood defences were built in phases during the 1970’s and 80’s and provide the town with a high level of flood protection. They are designed to reduce flood risk from Bridgwater upstream to Burrowbridge. While there was a noticeable increase in water levels during ‘Storm Eleanor’, the river remained within bank in the town and didn’t cause any flooding.

"The proposed Bridgwater Flood Barrier, due to be constructed further down the River Parrett, will provide an even higher level of protection when completed."

Average wind speeds of 50mph were recorded in parts of Somerset but gusts of 68mph were recorded in Liscombe, near Dulverton.

Rainfall was also at a high with 7.2mm of rainfall hitting Liscombe and 4.8mm falling on Dunkeswell from 6pm on Tuesday until about 9am on Wednesday.

Bridgwater Mercury:

Waves crashing over the sea wall at Blue Anchor

A spokesman for the Met Office said West Somerset got off lightly as Storm Eleanor hit the north of the UK first.

"The north of the UK took the brunt of Storm Eleanor so they have seen the most damage," the spokesman said.

"Somerset was quite far away from the storm so it was still hit but not as badly.

"We have had no reports of extreme damage across Somerset and this should continue over the coming days as the wind is forecast to drop off and die down."

Watchet Coastguard was on high alert during Storm Eleanor with crew patrolling areas of West Somerset's coastline, including Porlock Weir, Blue Anchor, Minehead and Watchet Harbour before and after the high tides.

A spokesman for Somerset County Council said their out of hours team responded to 23 calls overnight, 20 of them tree-related, overnight on Tuesday, January 2.