Residents in Haydon Court spoke of their shock at being woken by flooding after a water main burst earlier this morning.

Some flats in the Haydon Wick cul-de-sac were left under a few inches of water after the main burst at around 6am.

The fire service, which was called out at 6.13am, said 12 flats had been evacuated.

Swindon Advertiser:

Firefighters at the scene with Thames Water engineers

Shane Johnson, 32, had got home from a night shift at Argos and was having a bath. “I heard a massive bang. I could hear neighbours shouting and talking. The next minute I opened the door and found out what was going on. The whole street was flooded. There was water everywhere.”

He added: “It felt like a dream – ‘this isn’t happening, I want to wake up’. It was quite a horrible experience.”

Swindon Advertiser:

Shane Johnson with cat Leo 

Mr Johnson grabbed kitten Leo, who was left “a bit bewildered” by the experience.

Lisa Porter, 49, who was at home with her two dogs, told the Adver: “I heard some crashing. I thought it was something to do with a neighbour. I heard flushing.”

Carly Wallbank, 25, said: “The water was coming straight down like a waterfall. I rang Thames Water straight away. As I was on the phone to them the said three other people had phoned.” Her children were in the house at the time but appeared to be unfazed by the floodwater. Her son had told her: “There’s a puddle, I think it’s too big. If it’s too big we’ll fall into it.”

Swindon Advertiser:

Flood damage in one house in Haydon Court

Another neighbour, a 25-year-old woman who asked not to be named, showed the Adver the sodden floorboards in her flat. At its height, there was around a foot of floodwater in the close outside her home. She praised the authorities – the fire service, council and Sanctuary Housing – who were going door-to-door to assess the damage. “I can’t fault them.”

Resident Graham Ludlow, 60, was woken by the noise – although his flat was not affected by the flooding. He said of the water: “It went straight up. You could hear the rush of the water. It’s terrible; all the people who got their homes ruined.”

Firefighters from Swindon and Stratton fire stations remain at the scene together with engineers from Thames Water.

Thames Avenue, which was briefly closed as a result of flooding, has reopened. Nearby Morrison’s supermarket remains open to customers.