THEY are preparing for more storms – just days after rallying together to save an elderly Hampshire couple’s house from flooding.

Residents in Calmore Road, Totton, were ready for action last night as the county was again battered by heavy rain and high winds.

It came days after they sprang into action to save 90-year-old David and Patricia Harrison’s home.

Water from Calmore Canal spilled into the road and was just half an inch away from entering the house, only stopped when neighbours piled up sandbags.

Last night they were better prepared after the Highways Agency delivered 150 sandbags to the road after a call from Totton town councillor Neville Penman.

Cllr Penman said: “I thought it’s no good waiting for the flood to happen. We have 100 by Michigan Way and 50 by the garage and neighbours have been out knocking on doors all day telling people where they are.”

Mr Harrison, who has lived in the road his whole life, said: “My house has flooded four times in the past because water builds up in Calmore Road and then flows in through the neighbour’s garden.

“It’s made worse because cars drive so fast through the flood in the road. They think it’s good fun but it hits our homes like a wave.

“I’m really grateful I had my neighbours to help and I don’t know what I would have done without them.”

Next-door neighbour Bill Boyce said locals spent hours protecting their homes because it took so long for the flooding to clear.

Although there are several drains and pipes in the road to deal with floods, they frequently get blocked by fallen leaves, while ditches opposite the homes also regularly overflow.

Cllr Penman has been working on the problems for more than a year, and was also out with the neighbours protecting Mr Harrison’s home.

He said: “Credit to the Environment Agency and Highways Agency because they have been working on it through the summer and the highways team is often here to clear the drains. But we need to get the flooding sorted as soon as possible.”

Residents are also concerned at possible plans to build speed humps in the road to slow traffic.

Mother-of-two Laura Ellison, of Calmore Road, said: “I came out and saw the flooding and it was like a river coming down the road. Something definitely needs to be done about the speed but humps would only make flooding worse. We need something like a roundabout or a speed camera.”

Environment Agency flood risk officer Saleena Sanger said: “Since we became aware of the flooding issues in Calmore in November 2012 we have cleansed and inspected the majority of the culverts in the area.

“We removed tonnes of silt to allow water to flow freely through the culverts. In the new year we will be carrying out an assessment of another culvert, and will continue to work closely with our partners to try and reduce flood risk in the area.”