MALMESBURY flood victims faced a bleak Christmas without basic essentials while others prepared for the big day by bringing in extra supplies of sandbags as the Avon threatened to burst its banks yet again.

A new website and a Facebook page have been started to provide residents with emergency information like the location of pumps and how to build sandbag walls.

The last games of the year at the Flying Monk football ground were cancelled when the pitch flooded once more at the weekend. Volunteers rescued furniture and stock as water seeped into the clubhouse and spent Saturday night manning the pumps.

Offers of assistance poured into the town and with the help of a group from Swindon, supplies of sand and bags were delivered to vulnerable properties.

Meanwhile Wiltshire Councillor Simon Killane sent an open letter to colleagues on the town council demanding a progress report on its flood plan.

He said: “Sadly the reality is that an incredibly kind man from Swindon has provided all the sand bags that our residents and community clubs desperately require and some of our flood victims have faced a Christmas without the basic essentials for living. He stressed: “We don’t need a 9/11 expert to create a plan and we don’t need several trustees to meet several weeks after the flooding event to decide on funding to help those in need of emergency support.

“We need to use the money of our incredibly kind residents and the funds ring fenced by the council to make sure that no flood victim is left struggling to fulfil basic needs over the Christmas period.”

The Malmesbury Flood Info site malmesburyfloodinfo.weebly.com has details about current flood alerts and links for emergency help.