Brentwood and Ingatestone were hit by flooding over Christmas day after heavy rain in the area.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service were called out after calls to Mount Avenue in Brentwood, of a drain that had burst and affected a number of houses.

Motorists were also trapped in flood water in Red Rose Lane, Blackmore. Crews from Chelmsford and a swift water rescue team from Leigh were sent out to rescue them at about 11.45am.

A spokesman for the fire and rescue service said that they do not keep stocks of sand bags and will not be able to help those calling for emergency blockade materials. They have also encouraged motorists to follow safety advice and not to drive through flood water.

The spokesman said: “The fire service also only responds to flooding incidents where there is danger to people or some kind of life risk - crews cannot attend to pump water from gardens or recover stranded vehicles from flood water, this is the job of garage recovery teams.

“Once again motorists are ignoring safety warnings and continuing to drive into flooded areas putting themselves in danger.”