OUR recent look back at the summer floods of 2007 prompted hundreds of readers to get in touch with their memories of that dreadful time.

Parents recalled the problems with collecting children marooned at schools, householders looked back on the awful moments when they realised their homes were about to be swamped, and many more remembered trying to get home in one piece.

One of those, Jacquie Swinbourne, relived the unnerving trip she and her husband Paul had on flooded roads.

Jacquie said: "We both worked in Gloucester at the time When the rain started staff began to get nervous and by 3pm an announcement was made that my work base was closing.

"Half an hour later Paul picked me up and we headed out towards Staverton and the road that led to the M5.

"Unfortunately that road had already been partly flooded by the small stream that had turned to a raging torrent. We got through but the water was almost over the grille of the car.

"We diverted towards Cheltenham using back roads and urban streets. We doubled back on ourselves and two hours later we were in a queue of traffic outside Uckington waiting to get on M5 northbound.

"The water was rising across the road by the time we eventually got on the motorway and headed towards Worcester.

"It was now getting dark as we crawled along at a snail's pace. By 11.30pm we joined a stationary queue near the entrance to Strensham Services.

"By now one-and-a-half lanes of M5 north and two lanes of southbound were under water that was still rising. Lorries were stranded in long lines on the hard shoulder.

"A short time later the entrance to the Strensham off the M5 northbound flooded and water rushed over all three lanes.

"At this point and in desperation Paul gunned the motor and we aquaplaned through the flood. We were one of the last vehicles that made it back to Worcester that night. We arrived home well after midnight knowing we were lucky.

"Words are actually not enough to express how terrifying the experience was at the time."

IN PICTURES: The 2007 summer floods

Nick Ward was one of the unlucky motorists who became stranded, being stuck on the M5 north bound and not getting home until 4.30am.

Rebecca McMann also experienced the travel nightmare: "It was the last day of primary school and we had to leave early. It took two hours to get from Colwall to Ledbury."

Maria Masters said: "Students at The Chantry school had to stay overnight in the school building... roads were all cut off."

Rachel Marschall: "I remember getting through the floods to get home and realising I’d left the house key in my car, so we had to walk back through it... twice!"

Faye Small's memories were of the water coming up through the cellar in her house on Ombersley Road, while Helen Staight added: "I remember it well. My son, who was six, refused to be carried out of cherry as he had his wellies on and was going to walk out!"

Clare Robertson was at home with a newborn and recalls her family coming up from Gloucester and Cheltenham to do their washing as they had no water and to use shower.

Jemma Parker says that her house was flooded whilst she was away on holiday: "I had to return to a B&B!"

Like many, Chloe Warren endured a miserable time: "I lived in Tewkesbury. At 11.15pm there was no water inside, by 11.30pm my carpets and flooring was lifting. I lost so much, was awful."

Dorothy Baldwin said: "I sat and watched the water come in to my house. It didn’t matter what I did nothing could stop it."

Steven Morris had just moved house. "Our six-year-old daughter had to be carried out of Cherry Orchard Primary School, we had a power cut because the sub station was flooded, and I was left overnight in a dark house with two children and lots of boxes, as my wife was called into work, off duty, to work a night shift, as staff who lived outside of Worcester could not get in!"

Katreena Barnes remembers being marooned on an island for two weeks In Kempsey but paddling around in our canoe to see the village from a different perspective.

Scott Gormley added: "I remember getting flooded in at work in Kempsey and having to wait for a 4x4 with a snorkel to come rescue us from the building... all the while, my parents being in another country and ringing me constantly over and over to ensure I was home to feed the dog on time that night.

"Not that I got to safety, but that I got home to feed the dog and make sure the curtains were drawn before dark..."

Julia Ellins drove from Bromsgrove to West Sussex for a family wedding – it took her eight-and-a-half hours to get there.

Still on the wedding theme, Laura Shuker said that the houses in Brookside Road flooded for the first time and all her wedding flowers that they had grown in the garden were ruined.

Julie Harwood's daughter's marriage for off to a damp start. She said: "I remember it well. No hairdresser, no flowers, car turned up, they got married, no reception, fish and chips from the chippy!

"We celebrated at a later date and they're still happily married with three children, two boys and a girl.

The deluge coincided with Lindsay Johnson's first wedding anniversary.

She said: "We were booked into Brown’s on Quay Street for a champagne lunch... Sadly it found itself several feet underwater so we ended up in Red Rooms curry house for a £5.95 lunch special and a beer!

The final word goes to Emily Calvert: "I got stuck at my mum’s house and my two-month-old daughter had to sleep in a drawer on a towel.

"It was a random day."