WET weather brought misery to borough residents when torrential rain turned roads into rivers and made muddy lakes of their gardens.

Heavy downpours throughout the weekend left Basingstoke's Old Kempshott Lane and Kempshott Grove, in Buckskin, flooded after drains were unable to cope with the volume of water running off a nearby hill.

Lisa Truscott's Old Kempshott Lane home was one of the worst affected.

Mrs Truscott, 34, said: "The water is about an inch from my back door and is already running over my drive and through my garage.

"The water is coming from the nearby housing development, and we just don't know how long it is going to keep coming.

"I have a young baby and it is frightening."

Kempshott Grove resident Lindsay Gumbrell, 39, said: "I have lived in this area all my life and have never seen anything like this.

"I can't get to my house without using the car as the garden and drive are so deep in water."

She added: "Everyone said the field should never have been built on because there is a natural spring under it. Now it has been dug up, the water has nowhere to go."

Several councillors and Basingstoke MP Maria Miller, who was holding a nearby surgery, attended the scene.

Stephen Reid, county councillor for Basingstoke North, said: "This is what happens when planning officers think they know better than the people who live here.

"This is not just a flooded field. Homes have been damaged just before Christmas."

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to assess the situation in Old Kempshott Lane.

However, group manager Chris Stephens said: "Unfortunately, there is not much we can do. We are not able to pump water out because you cannot pump against nature.

"What needs to be addressed is a long-term solution for this problem but that is an issue for the authorities."

In Tadley, several residents of Furze Road could only access their homes by wading through about six inches of water.

It is the second time in two years that the road has suffered serious flooding, due to excessive rainfall causing a nearby ditch to overflow.

Resident Rod Coles, 64, said: "My father is 87 years old and cannot get out of the house. If you want to go somewhere, you have to wade through water.

"This has happened before and nothing has been done about it. The authorities all pass the blame."

Despite localised flooding on roads throughout the borough, a fire service spokesman said the weekend had been relatively quiet and crews had received few calls due to the weather.