Flooding in the wake of Storm Henk has continued to affect Didcot, with some businesses and services remaining closed as they assess the damage they have suffered.

Businesses at the Southmead Industrial Park were hit hard on Friday (January 6) with many being forced to close due to extensive flooding which had spread during the night.

Lee Matthews, director of DJ Matthews MOT, described his unit as being one of only two that escaped the flood water due its position in regard to a brook which runs around the back of the estate having overflowed.

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Mr Matthews said: “We’ve been here since December 2012 and have never seen it like this before – both in terms of depth and scale.

"Sadly the drains and guttering around the estate do not appear to be cleared on a regular basis and the brook has clearly been clogged up with overgrowth."

He confirmed that only his business’s car park had been affected by the flood water.

He added: “We’re really counting our blessings.

"Units behind us have sadly suffered significant damage. Some had pumps and sandbags in place and were doing all they could to stop the water spreading.”

Mr Matthews confirmed that since the flood water has dispersed, he has witnessed businesses hit conducting a “clean up operation,” removing property damaged or destroyed from their ground floors.

Other businesses on the estate most affected by flooding in Moorbrook, who did not wish to be named or comment further, confirmed they had been affected by at least a foot of flood water which had damaged their premises.

Elsewhere, Didcot Parkway station remained open last Friday and throughout the weekend, however some services were cancelled due to flooding. The underpass flooded, restricting access to some platforms.

Didcot Railway Centre was also forced to close as flooding was “too bad to let visitors pass.” 

The centre stated through its Facebook page that pumps in place provided by Network Rail proved insufficient in coping with the volume of water present.

The centre confirmed those with tickets for last weekends discovery days could be moved to another day, providing people contact the centre and arrange this.

Flooding rendered the car park at Didcot Library, off Broadway, unusable last Wednesday (January 3) after heavy rainfall, yet the building remained open. 

However, the library was then forced to announce its closure by Saturday (January 6), which extended to Monday (January 8).

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A spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council said: “A decision was taken to temporarily close the library. We hope to be able to reopen soon but can’t give a definite date at this stage.”

Didcot West county and district councillor Ian Snowdon said: “Unfortunately this has been a terrible start to the new year for the town, its businesses and the surrounding areas.

“The county council needs to spend more on keeping drains clear and infrastructural upkeep than it does its vanity projects.

"Should it prioritise what needs to be done, regardless of its ideology, residents will be better looked after."