Crews have kept up a 24 hour watch at Pingewood substation, in Burghfield, after they were called out at around 4am yesterday to help defend the stricken station.

Yesterday afternoon soldiers from Brock Barracks were drafted in to fill sandbags and a specialist high volume pumping unit was installed as efforts to save the substation became increasingly frantic.

This morning crews are still on the scene pumping out huge volumes of muddy water, and so far there has been no reported loss of power in the surrounding area.

The station was also threatened with flooding in December last year.