HEAVY rainfall and strong winds have not only caused trees to fall and localised flooding but affected the time it takes a Tavistock on-call doctor to get to his critically ill patients.

Anderton Lane in Whitchurch has been flooded due to heavy rain four times over the recent festive period.

One resident, Dr Giles Nordmann who lives at Anderton Cottage, was particularly badly affected, unable to get his car out of his driveway.

Dr Nordmann, a consultant working at Derriford Hospital and on-call for paediatric anaesthesia and critical care, said he had reported the problem four times over the Christmas period.

He said: 'This has gone on for two weeks and no action has been taken.

'I can now not reliably leave my house as my car will not get through the flood.

'When children are critically ill I need to get to the hospital within half an hour or their lives will be put at risk. I cannot fulfil this commitment with the flooded road.

'The collective inaction so far is therefore not only affecting a small population in Whitchurch but is having county-wide health consequences.'

The flooding issue on Anderton Lane has been an on-going concern for fellow residents since 2010.

Alison Wright, who lives on Whitchurch Road, said the flooding has caused great 'inconvenience' and 'danger' for motorists and to pedestrians.

She said: 'The gullies have been cleared which helped to drain the road but there's a stock fence over the channel of the bridge and that has collected debris and rocks and has formed a dam.

'The water collecting on the road does not seem to have any means of draining away. Maybe there are drains under the water which are blocked, but it seems to me that some new openings need to be made at the base of the bridge wall and the hedgebanks to allow it to run straight off the road instead of pooling.

'Something must be done urgently to relieve the situation as more storms are expected. If it's not sorted this will keep reoccurring, and Dr Nordmann will keep getting trapped in his house, and for him it is desperately important that he gets to work.

'It is really dangerous and it needs to be dealt with, as someone could be injured or worse!'

A Devon County Council spokesman said: 'The stream at Anderton Lane has been inspected and our highways teams will be removing some old fencing, which is no longer needed, that had caused some of the flooding problems.

'A number of gully gratings which were covered in storm debris have now also been cleared.'