Motorist saved from flood water

Firefighters have been handing out sandbags in Oxfordshire

A motorist has been rescued by firefighters after his van became trapped in flood water in Oxfordshire.

Crews tried to use a boat to cross the water but it was so fast flowing that it had flooded the back road between Berinsfield and Stadhampton.

Chris Barber from the fire service said those who get into difficulty should remain in their vehicle.

"Even a foot of fast flowing water can take you off your feet so everybody needs to be extremely careful.

"Water can displace manholes and you can't see where you're walking so the best thing for people to do is to stay in their vehicle and wait for the emergency services."

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue have been handing out sandbags to those at risk of flooding in the county.

The Environment Agency has said that flooding in most areas of the county is receding.

Officials said they were still keeping a close eye on the River Thames and a number of rivers remained on flood watch.

120 sheep were rescued from a field that had flooded near Thame

Barry Russell, spokesman for the agency, said: "The smaller rivers flowing into the Thames discharged their water quite quickly, but the Thames is a very slow to react river.

"We saw it during the July 2007 event where the Thames took a long time to get to its maximum level before it started decreasing. We are going to watch that over the next few days."

Meanwhile, the RSPCA had to rescue 120 sheep from a flooded field near Thame.

The RSPCA said heavy rain combined with melting snow was to blame.

It took four hours for the flock to be moved to dry land.

Seven of the animals had already drowned and a further three had to be put down.