FIRE crews from Cirencester have been sent to support their counterparts in Somerset in an effort to deal with the extensive wide-area flooding.

The firefighters arrived in Taunton on Wednesday, January 29 as the county prepared itself for another weekend of dyer weather conditions.

Jon Hall, chief fire officer for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We have become very used to assisting other services around the country, this being the fourth occasion in the past year.

“With our own experience of flooding, we know how important it is to receive external support when local resources become stretched.”

The Cirencester team set up camp in the south of the county setting up hose lines and helping the Environment Agency with high-volume water pumping.

Gloucestershire’s hovercraft division has also been put on standby in anticipation of further extreme flooding.

Cllr Will Windsor-Clive, cabinet member for fire and planning, said he was proud that the crews’ skills and expertise were being put to good use.

Crews from Cirencester were previously sent to aid firefighters dealing with the flooding in Norfolk in December last year.