RESCUE operations were carried out in the Thornbury area after deluges turned roads into rivers and open areas into swamps.

Emergency services were at full stretch as drains failed to cope with heavy rain falling on already saturated ground.

The worst problems occurred on Friday afternoon and evening, when almost an inch and a half of rain fell in the area.

But the rain kept on falling and surface water has remained a serious problem on the roads, particularly minor routes, all over the district.

Reports of serious damage to property were few but numerous roads were closed in a bid to save motorists from grief and swamped engines.

The northbound carriageway of the M5 was closed from Patchway to Falfield and traffic queued for miles as drivers were diverted onto the A38.

Regular floodspots including the bottom of Alveston Hill and Tockington Lane in Almondsbury were also affected.

This week parts of Thornbury's Kington Lane became virtually impassable and the situation remained difficult in the Tytherington area and around the Laddon Brook, which is running at extremely high levels.

Friday's monsoon - and in some areas near-blizzard - conditions were accompanied by a power cut which affected homes and businesses in parts of Thornbury for several hours.

A wheelchair-bound woman was one of three occupants in a car that was stranded in rising water at Itchington.

Police waded in waist deep to help the women - believed to be from the Cheltenham area - to slightly higher ground until a local farmer arrived with a tractor to convey them to full safety.

They were taken to Thornbury police station to recover from the trauma before being returned home.

Meanwhile at Huntingford near Charfield, police and fire service personnel borrowed a boat to rescue two men marooned on the cab roof of a tractor which itself became disabled in deep floodwater.

There was distress at Tockington when a hearse travelling to a crematorium became stuck and had to be towed clear by a recovery vehicle.

A replacement hearse was dispatched to the scene and the coffin was transferred to continue its journey.

Among numerous emergencies answered by Thornbury fire station was a call to Castle School in Park Road, where children had to be evacuated when surface water poured into a music room.

A school spokesman said: "Pumping out was necessary but thankfully damage was not serious and our maintenance staff did a sterling job drying the room out and it was back in use on Monday."

Across the district as a whole, South Gloucestershire Council distributed around 1,800 sandbags on Friday and over the weekend in areas most at risk from flooding and a further 200 were issued on Monday.

Council workers remained on standby this week as forecasters issued further warnings of severe weather - including the possibility of more heavy rain - across the region.

Council spokesman Ryan Skeets said: "We are continuing to monitor the situation closely. We have procedures in place for dealing with flooding and will activate them as and when required."