ROADS crumbled, rivers of water gushed through people's gardens and residents were left with gardens like mudbaths when flash floods hit Weston

ROADS crumbled, rivers of water gushed through people's gardens and residents were left with gardens like mudbaths when flash floods hit Weston.Worle, Worlebury and Milton were among the areas worst hit when the heavens opened earlier last week.David Heath said the scene resembled Boscastle, the Cornish village devastated by freak floods in 2004, when he looked out of the window of his home in Spring Hill on Tuesday morning and saw water running like a river through his garden.Ralph Baker, aged 74, and his 63-year-old wife Mary were told by their postman that Spring Valley had been badly hit. Because their son Darren lives there they rushed down to help clear up the mess knowing he was at work.Mary said: "We came to check if everything was okay and we found water six inches deep."Mercury deputy editor Jerard Hurst, aged 37, was on his way to work at about 8.30am when he witnessed the effects of the deluge.A torrent of water flooded a stretch of Upper Bristol Road at the foot of Milton Hill. Parts of the surface of the steep road leading up to Worlebury crumbled away under the volume of water cascading down it.Jerard added: "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The road at the bottom of the hill must have been under at least two or three feet of water. It was like watching something out of a film."The water swept through the front gardens of houses which were below road level, leaving behind a trail of destruction.Jerard added: "The gardens must have been devastated by the force of the water running through them. I've never seen anything like it."Worle High Street, often hit hard by flash floods in the past, was also swamped by the downpour. Drains burst, sending water feet into the air, businesses were flooded, and children walking to school with their parents had to negotiate lakes of rainwater.Just as the worst hit areas were drying out a second downpour, at about 2.30pm, resulted in more serious flooding. Staff and customers were left paddling in three inches of water after the roof of Muffins Tea Rooms and Brasserie in Worle High Street collapsed. Ellen Pitt, who owns the nearby Pretty In Pink store, said: "The whole High Street was flooded and in places the water was just below knee height. "I had people coming into my shop because they couldn't walk on the pavement."According to amateur weatherman Chris Cudlipp, of Bleadon, 92mm of rain has so far fallen in July.