RECORD river levels brought flooding despair and traffic chaos to the western side of the New Forest yesterday.

Ringwood, Fordingbridge and other communities in the Avon valley were swamped after the river burst its banks with a vengeance.

At Ringwood about 20 caravans and mobile homes on the Stubbings Meadow site were surounded by floodwater from the Avon and the Mill Stream.

Environment Agency officials advised residents to leave as the water swirled knee-deep round their homes, but most chose to stay put.

Taxi driver John Pettifer, 60, said: "The water would have to rise another 18 inches before it came indoors.

"Most people are sitting tight."

But neighbour Elizabeth Davies, 78, was preparing to abandon the mobile home where she has lived for 30 years and stay with her daughter.

She said: "I've never seen it like this before.

"I am keeping my fingers crossed that it won't get any higher, but it certainly doesn't seem to be going down."

New Forest councillor Bob Hale was forced to miss a meeting of the district planning development control committee after his Fordingbridge home was flooded.

Altogether, about 40 homes in Fordingbridge were affected.

John Rainbow, the district council's head of consultancy services, said: "The water getting into houses is dirty and contaminated.

"We would ask people to pay extra attention to hygiene."

Many residential roads and country lanes were blocked by floodwater, which even closed sections of the A31 at Ringwood and the A338 at Fordingbridge.

Flooding also hit the A35 at Christchurch, causing tailbacks throughout the borough.