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The quaint hamlet of Hammoon, near Shaftesbury in Dorset, is remarkable only for a 12th century Norman church and its scenic bridge over the River Stour.
And it’s that river which has provoked an extraordinary row between infuriated locals, visiting motorists – and the health and safety conscious county council.
The dispute has seen a raft of motorists come unstuck in the floodwater that backs up from the Stour during spells of heavy rain – with repair bills and recovery bills running to tens of thousands of pounds.
And so fraught has the situation become that the local authority has been labelled ‘pathetic’ and ‘idiotic’ with some even muttering about potential legal action.
The source of the problem is a small dip in the single unclassified road that runs through Hammoon between the slightly larger nearby villages of Manston and Fiddleford.
Although the 20 odd houses in Hammoon are built high enough to stay dry when the Stour overflows its banks, that dip fills with water that’s particularly deep while the whole road surface is submerged so drivers can’t see it coming.
For some years unwitting motorists had been prevented from driving into the de facto sink hole thanks to a simple preventative method: two iron-barred floodgates on either side of the bridge over the Stour on the north side of the village.
As soon as the river started rising local volunteers would keep an eye on water levels – and keep in touch with each other via a Whatsapp group – swinging into action when the river reached critical levels and swinging the gates shut.
A river in Hammoon in Dorset has provoked an extraordinary row between infuriated locals, visiting motorists – and the health and safety conscious county council. The source of the problem is a small dip in the single unclassified road (pictured) that runs through the hamlet
The dispute has seen a raft of motorists come unstuck in the floodwater that backs up from the Stour during spells of heavy rain – with repair bills and recovery bills running to tens of thousands of pounds
One villager said they had counted 10 stranded vehicles over one three-week period alone after unsuspecting drivers were caught out by the gates not being shut in time. Pictured: a flooded road in Hammoon
Parish councillors say it costs the tax payer at least £3,000 each time the emergency services are called to a stranded vehicle and they only rescue people, not the cars
Villagers have described the council’s response when called out to take urgent action as ‘useless’ and ‘pathetic’
Last autumn officials from Dorset Council waded into the flood question, informing Hammoon residents that they could no longer operate the gates (pictured) themselves because this did not meet health and safety standards
That was the system – simple but effective – that was in place until four months ago.
And it worked well, preventing anyone not familiar with the finer details of the road through the village submerging their car.
But then last autumn officials from Dorset Council waded into the flood question, informing Hammoon residents that they could no longer operate the gates themselves because this did not meet health and safety standards.
They told Hammoon that the risks associated with volunteers on the highway – even a tiny back country road – could not be ‘satisfactorily mitigated’.
So the old volunteer flood watch system was suspended and the council took over the management of the flood gates instead.
Hammoon Parish Council was given a hotline number to call when they felt the gates needed to be closed and assured a team would rush out to do this inside a maximum time window of two hours.
The new system was immediately put to the test as the winter of 2025/6 was a particularly rainy one as Dorset was successively battered by storms Amy, Bram and Chandra.
What happened next?
The gates were repeatedly not closed in time and cars were repeatedly stuck.
This has meant the hamlet has been clogged up with stranded cars, emergency service vehicles and recovery units.
One villager said they had counted 10 stranded vehicles over one three-week period alone after unsuspecting drivers were caught out by the gates not being shut in time.
They say they have repeatedly been unable to get hold of officials in the highways’ department and when they have managed to get through they have then taken too long to come out.
Villagers have described the council’s response when called out to take urgent action as ‘useless’ and ‘pathetic’.
Parish councillors say it costs the taxpayer at least £3,000 each time the emergency services are called to a stranded vehicle and they only rescue people, not the cars.
In one episode, a van driver who was not local to the area had to be rescued on an inflatable raft by the fire service after getting stuck.
One victim was building project manager George Bingham whose Mercedes estate car was written off three weeks ago after he drove into the Stour floodwater without realising its depth.
He says he only made his expensive mistake because he had been unaware the council was now running the system – and less responsively.
Mr Bingham, 67, who is also a sculptor, said: ‘I knew the people in Hammoon have been very efficient at running these gates for the last few years.
‘So when I came around the corner and I saw the gates were open – because they weren’t shut I thought the village was probably passable.
‘You would think I am old enough to know better, but I wasn’t.
‘Water got into the air intake and I came to a stop in the middle of it. Had I reversed it would have gone into my exhaust pipe.
‘A woman came out and brought me a pair of Wellington boots so I could get out. I called for a pick up truck and the car was taken to a garage who said it was a write off.
‘There were two other cars stranded there when I joined them and there had been a van floating around for about a week.’
One victim was building project manager George Bingham (pictured) whose Mercedes estate car was written off three weeks ago after he drove into the Stour floodwater without realising its depth
Mr Bingham (pictured), 67, says he only made his expensive mistake because he had been unaware the council was now running the system – and less responsively
Now that Mr Bingham knows the back story to why the gates remained open even when the road was dangerously flooded he’s furious.
‘I think it is pathetic of the council,’ he said. ‘People in Hammoon used to have the common sense to be able to open and shut these gates totally efficiently – but it is totally inefficient now that the council is doing it.’
The trigger for the gates being shut was traditionally when the river level went above 2.3 metres (7ft 6in) – and they would stay shut until the waters had dropped back below that level.
Local resident Vanda Goddard said: ‘When the residents were operating the gates, we had no problems. Everything went smoothly and not a single car got stuck.
‘But it’s been a disaster since the Council took over. They said they had to do it because of health and safety and that residents were being put in danger, but nobody seems to have any common sense anymore.’
She added: ‘There was nothing wrong with the old system, it worked fine but these meddling council officials have ruined things.’
Local resident Vanda Goddard (pictured) said: ‘When the residents were operating the gates, we had no problems. Everything went smoothly and not a single car got stuck. But it’s been a disaster since the Council took over’
Ken, a local farm worker said: ‘The council are doing a bad job. Sometimes they don’t close the road when it’s flooded and at other times, they close it when it’s not. It was much better and safer when the residents were in charge.
‘We’ve had a really bad winter and a lot of cars have got stuck on the flooded road. I don’t understand why the council decided to interfere when the old system has been working perfectly fine for the past four years, when the gates were installed.’
He added: ‘It’s not a problem for me because I’m always in my tractor. But the council are morons, you’ve got it in one – they can’t even do a simple job of opening and closing two gates. It’s ridiculous.’
Ken, a local farm worker said: ‘I don’t understand why the council decided to interfere when the old system has been working perfectly fine for the past four years, when the gates were installed’
A former member of the village’s Parish Council who did not want to be named said: ‘Sadly, the health and safety mob decided to stick their noses into our business because we had a really good system.
‘I have lived here all my life and the flooding has got worse and worse over the years. But the community pulled together and always made sure that no cars got affected. All that got ruined when Dorset Council got involved and they’ve done a terrible job.’
Mary-Jane Wright, who keeps livestock at Hammoon, said: ‘There’s a dip in the road and if people are not local they have no idea how deep it is there.
‘It catches people out. And the problem is satnav brings people down that way thinking it’s a shortcut.
‘Hammoon has always flooded and there was never any defence before.
‘A local farmer used to end up pulling the cars out with his tractor.
‘But when the gates were put in they made a difference, people didn’t get stuck as much and fire engines weren’t being called out to rescue people.
‘But this last winter it was decided by the council they would take back control of the gates and it has caused issues.’
She added: ‘I met the farmer’s son a couple of weeks ago and he had just towed three people out.
‘The gates being shut is a good deterrent but now the council are not shutting the gates quick enough.
‘There are people who like to chance it and then fire engines get called out to rescue them. It’s such a waste of resources and money.
‘The council have said it’s a safeguarding issue and it’s not safe for the volunteers to put out the signs but why should it make any difference?
‘It’s not hard, it involves them standing on a bank not in the road and they’ve done it successfully for years.’
Another villager, Sue Read, said: ‘This has only become a problem since the council has taken over responsibility for the closure of the gates and the signage.
‘It all seemed to work fine when the residents were dealing with it.’
A Dorset Council spokesperson said the gate control policy change came about after the parish council ‘reviewed their ongoing involvement’ and Dorset Council took on responsibility following ‘mutual discussion’.
She said: ‘We would like to thank the volunteers who have supported the community over many years by helping to operate the flood gates.
‘Following discussions with the parish council, and the legal requirements involved in formally closing a highway, it has now been agreed that Dorset Council staff will carry out this function going forward.
‘To support safer decision‑making, we are working with the parish council to explore additional ways of warning motorists about flooding, including the potential installation of new or enhanced depth markers to give clearer, real‑time information.
‘We are aware that recent flooding has resulted in some vehicles becoming stranded and while we continue to refine our procedures we are advising motorists to take extra care when approaching the area.
Although the 20 odd houses in Hammoon (pictured) are built high enough to stay dry when the Stour overflows its banks, that dip fills with water that’s particularly deep while the whole road surface is submerged so drivers can’t see it coming
One villager said they had counted 10 stranded vehicles over one three-week period alone after unsuspecting drivers were caught out by the gates not being shut in time
‘Floodwater can be unpredictable, even when it appears shallow, and conditions can change quickly.
‘For this reason, it is always safest to avoid driving through standing or moving floodwater whenever possible.’
Hammoon has a history almost 1000 years old – it’s mentioned in the Doomsday book – but has a population of just 40, a number sometimes augmented by stranded motorists.