SOUTH Western Ambulance Service has sent members of its Hazardous Area Response Team to the Somerset Levels to check on the welfare of vulnerable people stranded by the floods.

In conjunction with Avon and Somerset Police and the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, the ambulance service’s HART team, which is specially trained and equipped for quick water access, will be manning a boat and visiting 77 houses in the worst affected areas.

Derek McCullough, East Somerset operational locality manager for the ambulance service, said: “You have to feel for the residents who have been affected by the floods. Our main concern is making sure those who are affected have all their medical provisions and the HART team will be on hand to offer medical advice and treatment if this is needed.”