THE Tatworth and Forton area could suffer devastating flooding similar to Boscastle in 2004 unless prevention schemes are put in place now, it has been claimed.

Flash floods three years ago saw havoc in the Cornish seaside village when a torrent ten feet high surged through the main street and 2 inches of rain fell in just two hours.

Tatworth and Forton Parish Council vice-chairman Jan Morse believes the same could happen in Tatworth and Forton, and is calling on the authorities to take action.

At last week's parish council meeting she urged that further housing developments on the south side of Chard should only get the go-ahead if flood alleviation measures are included in the conditions.

"When the developments at Mintons and Mitchell Gardens in Chard were carried out no flood scheme was installed," she said.

"Now it means every drop of rain that falls on that area is running down to us.

"We could be the next Boscastle. If we ever had three inches of rain in 24 hours we're going to have problems as all the rain's running straight into Forton Brook."

Tatworth and Forton are already prone to flooding, and councillors fear further housing n green field sites could spell disaster as self-draining fields are replaced by Tarmac.

They are urging Chard Town Council planners to think more about flood risk with new housing projects.

Cllr Morse said she was willing to show Chard councillors the potential problems.

Chard Town Council clerk John Furze told the News he had not yet been contacted by his neighbours at Tatworth and Forton, but would be interested to hear from them.

Parish councillor Barbara Adams said she had met residents by Forton Brook and South Somerset District Council's engineer Roger Meecham.

She said: "He's aware of the problem. We need to keep the momentum going on this and get something done."

A district council spokesman said each planning application is treated the same and goes to the Environment Agency, who look at the environmental side of things as official consultees.

"Planning policy also requires developers to provide evidence of assessing environmental risks in their plans," he said.