Villagers have been left feeling  ‘abandoned’ by the local council over a lack of action during severe flooding.

Following severe downpours across the country as Storm Henk rocked through the southeast, water levels reached record highs in both Caversham and Purley on Thames.

Due to the area's proximity to the River Thames, residents in both areas have been forced to deal with intense flooding causing serious damage to homes, gardens, and vehicles.

Purley village has long battled back for many decades against flooding being right on the river, but many feel that the support they received this year has not met the standards that they received in both 2003 and 2013.

One neighbour said: “The response has been really slow this time. Three years ago was the first time I had to deal with slight flooding and West Berkshire Council were brilliant. This year it feels like everyone is being ignored.

“When I moved here I was told that there was loads of support and pumps would be here to control the majority of it. 

“After three days we were on the phone with the council and were immediately transferred to the environment agency.

“My neighbours has also been living with no power, heating or electricity over the past few days and nothing has been done to support them. I feel that they could have done more.”

Barry Elford, who has been supporting the community through the flooding, is campaigning to get the council involved in the clean up as the water is cleared away.

His request for sandbags and help prior to the flooding was supposedly ignored with many phone calls and requests to the council ignored.

Barry explained: “We’ve been let down by West Berkshire Council. I’m not saying that sandbags would have stopped the floods but they would stop drain plugs coming off and it would make it safer.

“They should have been put in place beforehand to stop raw sewage coming out on the road and that’s what we really wanted. That was gone this year.

"The pumps do help a little because they stopped my neighbour's house flooding in 2013. Going forward, I want to have roads swept and cleaned up.”

Despite complaints, West Berkshire Council has stated it has been preparing for these floods since the arrival of Storm Henk including work and cooperation with emergency services, the NHS and other local authorities.

An assurance has been made by the authority that it will be checking the drainage and flood defence infrastructure, removing debris from roads and coordinating with communities during the upcoming days.

Stuart Gourley, West Berkshire’s Executive Member for Climate Action, Recycling and Biodiversity said: “We appreciate how distressing and unsettling this is for local people, directly affected or not. We are working alongside partners to warn, inform, assist, and advise our residents.

“We’re in this for the long haul as it will take time for the water to subside so this will be a big challenge for us and our communities, but we’re confident that together we can bounce back and continue to build a more resilient West Berkshire.”

The council has been working with the wardens across the village to assist residents in need. The 12-strong team have been dubbed the ‘pillars of the community’ by elderly residents.