Local fire crews were praised this week after dealing with major flooding in parts of Pembrokeshire on Sunday. The flooding was caused after torrential rain fell overnight and continued into the next morning.

Meanwhile, engineers from Pembrokeshire County Council's transport and environment department have been busy inspecting bridges in the Narberth and east Pembrokeshire area following the weekend's flooding.

The intense rainfall over a short period of time caused disruption to the area and resulted in a large number of call-outs for the council's maintenance and highways teams.

"I along with other Narberthians have never ever seen flooding like it in the Bridge area; homes right across the town were also hit, and Springfield Park households were also damaged," said local county councillor Wynne Evans, who was on the scene from start to finish.

Narberth's Mill Lane and Narberth Bridge were badly affected and crews from the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service dealt with the flooding of numerous properties.

Firefighters were also involved in pumping out water and Narberth Bridge was eventually reopened to traffic at around 2 pm, following a safety assessment.

On the southern approach to the town, flash flooding affected six homes and 21 caravans at the Brookside Caravan Park after water levels in the stream rose 14 feet to flood the main road, while in a separate incident firefighters rescued a family whose 4x4 vehicle had become trapped when trying to navigate through floodwater in the Whitland area.

Two specialist water rescue crews from Carmarthen and Swansea Central Fire Stations rescued the family using specialist boats and Swift Water Rescue techniques.

The Environment Agency had a flood warning in place for the River Hydfron at Llanddowror, while the A477 St. Clears to Red Roses road was closed until around 3.30 pm, due to flooding and a fallen tree,.

Rail passengers also suffered disruption after trains were unable to run in either direction between Whitland and Pembroke Dock because of flooding across the railway line in Narberth.

County council engineers have made further inspections of areas that were hit, to see whether there has been any underlying damage to the bridge as a result of the flooding.

Inspections will also be made at two further bridges in the area - at Llanmill (near the Crematorium) and at a bridge between Lampeter Velfrey and Whitland, where the road has been severely damaged and is likely to remain closed for some time.

Clr. Evans praised all the fire crews involved with dealing with the flash-flood scenario so swiftly.

"Firstly I must say a huge thanks to our emergency services and the council's own rapid response team," he said.

"Fire tenders attended from Narberth, Crymych, Whitland, Pembroke Dock, Tenby and the specialist SAR tenders from Carmarthen headquarters.

"As vice chair of the Mid and West Wales Fire Authority resources, I am very proud indeed of the hard work and understanding shown by our crews to residents who suffered severe flooding in their homes.

"The police, as always, did an excellent job, as well as the council workforce. The Bridge in Narberth has now undergone a complete structural survey for safety," continued Clr. Evans, who said that he would be visiting each household affected in the coming week, while an emergency meeting is to be arranged to discuss what new drainage issues can be completed to ensure devastation like this does not occur again.

Town councillor Colin Williams, whose business was also affected by the flooding, praised the work of the firefighters on the day as well.

"The town and many surrounding areas were hit pretty bad, but all the fire brigade boys did a tremendous job in dealing with the situation and I can't speak highly enough of their heroics for the area.

"On a personal level, Dicky Lewis and the Tenby crew came out to me on Cox Hill and were brilliant there too," he added.

Fire Service Incident Commander Craig Thomas said that they were able to utilise the Dyfed Powys Police helicopter to provide aerial information on the extent of the flooding.

Specialist fire crews also located and secured an LPG heating tank which had been reported as floating away with the surge, to ensure the continued safety of members of the public.