Published: June 7, 2009
Fire crew battles to stop rainwater flooding Burnham-On-Sea church

Heavy rainfall sent torrents of water flooding through the ceiling of a Burnham-On-Sea church on Sunday evening (June 7th).

Fire crews were called to Burnham Methodist Church in College Street, as pictured, after water gushed through the ceiling.

Shocked churchwardens, who were in the church for this weekend's 130th anniversary flower festival, called the fire crew after buckets were overwhelmed by the torrent.

Our photo on the right shows the water streaming down the walls onto carpets.

The fire crews used ladders to climb onto the roof to find the source of the flooding and a spokesman told Burnham-On-Sea.com that a blocked guttering pipe was believed to have caused the leak.

The church's former vicar, Joyce Plumb, who was in the building at the time, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: "It all came as a shock - we were just finishing our tea to mark the end of the flower festival when there was a strange noise out in the corridor and then lots of water came pouring out of the light fittings in the ceiling."

"Fortunately, there was no-one in the corridor at the time and the fire brigade were quickly on scene to help prevent the problem worsening."

She added that it was too early to know how much the damage would cost to repair. Heavy downpours of rain, and even a hail storm, swept through Burnham on Sunday evening.

Click here for online video of the fire crews at the scene