Villagers were told to evacuate their homes during the night after the River Blackwater burst its banks.

The Environmental Agency issued a flood warning early on Saturday morning for the River Blackwater from Braintree to Langford, including Coggeshall and Kelvedon.

Flood water seeped inside some houses in East Street and Bridge Street as the river overflowed. 

Father-of-five Simon Pownall, of East Street, was woken up at 5.15am by the Environment Agency advising him to leave.

Within hours water had reached his house.

He said: “It’s a nightmare,” he said.

“What is even worse is our craft studio business operaties from the studio, which is under two inches of water.

“It means the business isn’t going to be operational.”

Flood warnings for the River Blackwater, including Coggeshall and Kelvedon and the River Brain from Black Notley to Witham are no longer in place.