YET more military intervention has taken place in Hampshire to guard against flooding.

Royal Navy sailors have teamed up with Test Valley Borough Council to sandbag The Causeway in Romsey.

The work was undertaken near the The Meads area where 300 Light Dragoons laid sandbags last week to protect nearby homes.

Nearby Romsey War Memorial Park has also been closed over the past few days due to flooding.

Test Valley Council also confirmed work to repair breaches in the banks of the Barge Canal have also been completed.

It follows the erection of the temporary barrier at Fishlake Stream that is diverting the River Test overflow into floodplains and should protect 300 homes from water damage.

But Environment Agency operations manager Mike O’Neill warned residents to remain vigilant in case of more severe weather.

He said: “Even with this defence in place, we don’t want people to become complacent because there is still a heightened risk of flooding across the county, so we want people to do everything they can to be aware and prepared.”

At its peak, the flow rate of the River Test reached 55 tonnes of water per second, enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in just 20 seconds. The Test through Romsey only has the capacity to take around 50 tonnes per second.

Meanwhile Winchester could hold a civic event to thank the agencies that look to have saved the city from going underwater.

The idea was proposed at a council meeting where Labour group leader Chris Pines said: “There should be some sort of celebration bringing together the agencies that have saved our city and district, and say thank you to them.”

An emergency control centre at Winchester Guildhall will continue meeting daily for the foreseeable future to guard against any further problems.

And deputy council leader Rob Humby has set aside £100,000 for remedial works with a second round of funding to be announced in March.

Lib Dem leader Kelsie Learney also praised the “local people, parish councillors and action groups and the volunteers. They have identified vulnerable people and made sure residents have had help on the day. Many volunteers are now exhausted having worked for weeks. It is important we continue to extend council assistance to those communities.”