THE SUDDEN dry spell may have seen flood waters recede but Environment Agency officers say the relief may be temporary.

Initial fears that towns such as Winchester would see widespread flooding were allayed when the rains stopped in mid-December.

But the underground water table is only one metre below the surface and flooding could quickly return.

Rod Murchie the agency's water resources manager, said: "It will take more than a couple of days' rain, as the ground levels have drop-ped. In most places they are only a metre below the ground. It could quickly come back again and it would not take a lot of rain."

Mr Murchie said agency staff had been surprised by the sudden dry spell caused by static high pressure.

He said: "But that is our climate. We had two to three times the average rainfall. Then in mid-December the weather switched off.

"We had a dry Christmas and one storm since then.

"We have actually had the seasonal average in January although it doesn't seem like it."

The usual winter rainfall causes groundwater levels to peak in February or March, which would be bad news for vulnerable places on the Test and Itchen and villages such as Hambledon.

Mr Murchie said the flooding crisis in December had beneficial spin-offs. "We have learned so much.

"Next time we will be in a better position to provide warnings.

"There was very good co-operation between the county council, Winchester City Council and the agency."

The Candover Valley north-east of Winchester still has flood water more than a month after the torrential rain which caused so much havoc.