TORRENTS of water up to three feet gushed through Ottery, near Tavistock, on Thursday after heavy rain hit the West Devon and East Cornwall area. One resident said he ?had never seen anything like it? after a funnel cloud passed through the hamlet. The downpour was part of a storm with thunder and lightning, which saw more than two thirds of an inch of rain in torrential bursts throughout the afternoon. Daniel Massey, whose parents run the Ottery Press, said the situation was so bad that he was temporarily stranded in the hamlet when the road between Ottery and Mill Hill quickly flooded. The water poured through the tarmac and soon made it impassable ? even for four wheeled drive vehicles. Parts of the road, which ironically were due to be patched up by local authorities this week, were completely destroyed. Daniel, 25, who lives and works in Tavistock, said: ?I had driven across to my parents? house in glorious sunshine when it started to rain very heavily. ?Then there was intense hail and thunder and the heaviest rain I have ever witnessed. It only went on for 40 minutes and once it had stopped I tried to make my way back to work. ?The roads looked more like canals and it was more like being in a kayak than a car. I had to turn back when it was obvious that the water ahead was too deep and I was told by the driver of a LandRover that it was at least three feet deep. It turned out to be much worse in Mill Hill.? Daniel, an IT worker, added: ?The water had already dropped a bit but there was still a torrent raging down the hill onto the road and then through Mill Hill. Road surfaces had been torn up and washed away and hedge banks had collapsed into the road. It was like nothing I had ever seen.? In Tavistock youngsters seized the opportunity to make the most of the downpour. Quick thinking Adam Holland was in beach mood when he saw his street at Torlands awash with rainwater. Adam, 20, said: ?When I looked outside I just grabbed my skimboard and surfed down the street. I haven?t been able to use the board, which I bought in the Isle of Wight two years ago, so this was the perfect opportunity.? Adam, who plays for Tavistock Hockey Club and runs for Tavistock Athletic Club, said once he began to surf half a dozen children thought it a great idea and joined in before the water cleared about two hours later. The main Plymouth to Yelverton road experienced up to six inches of water in places. Barry Grommett, a spokesman for the Met Office in Exeter, said more than two thirds of an inch of rain in an hour was recorded at Chivenor in North Devon on the Thursday and that in some areas in East Cornwall and West Devon more than one inch per hour was possible. ?This has been brought about by troughs and convergences. Lots of weather conditions come together to create this storm, such as wind disturbance and upper flows at 30,000 feet and a combination of heat and moisture. The summer months are the normal time for such spates of short, heavy bursts of rain.? Although there were cases of localised flooding caused by the storms, a spokeswoman for West Devon Borough Council said they had not received any requests for help.
