TORRENTIAL rain caused chaos in parts of Gwent yesterday, flooding homes and closing roads. A landslide in Tintern saw tonnes of earth and uprooted trees engulf the main road.

Andy Doyle, Daniel Lombard and Jon Doel talked to those affected as the Gwent mop up operation began.

HEAVY rain caused major flooding in parts of Gwent yesterday.

In Abergavenny, angry residents are demanding action after their homes were flooded for the third time in two years.

A damaged culvert has reeked havoc again in Station Road - less than a year after it caused flooding in five houses.

Yesterday five houses were hit - three severely.

Of these four were damaged earlier this year.

Retired matron Joyce Bufton, 80, has lived in her cottage off Station Road for 48 years.

"If you didn't get angry about it you'd just break down and cry," she said.

"It is absolutely dreadful inside."

Her house was hit badly in November 2006 and March this year.

She only moved back in six months ago after work on repairs after the last flood were completed.

Miss Bufton woke to find water pouring into her kitchen at 5.30am.

Within minutes several inches of water was swirling around the ground floor of her house.

"It's horrible - nobody seems to care," she added.

"I should think it's thousands of pounds worth of damage."

She said she's been told by council officers no work on the culvert can be carried out for five years.

Her neighbour Paul Gwyn was due to fly back from Lanzarote today.

Friend and mayor of Abergavenny Martin Hickman helped firefighters enter so the flood water could be drained.

But officers had to force open the front door.

Crew manager at Abergavenny fire station, Mark Taylor, said a damaged culvert, about four metres below the surface, is the cause of the flooding.

"Water is becoming backed up and building up in the yard - it's the sheer volume of rain which has caused it," he said.

Firefighters were called at 7am and remained on site throughout the day with pumping equipment.

Mr Hickman said "numerous meetings" had been held with council officers about the culvert.

It's understood the damaged area is under a rear garden further along Station Road.

"The whole situation with regard to the situation has reached a bit of a stalemate," he said.

That's not good enough for Keith Hopkinson who saw his house badly flooded in March.

Then water caused severed damage to ground floor rooms and flooded the basement.

Yesterday his basement was flooded again.

"It is crazy this has happened again - about £8,000 worth of damage was caused last time," he said.

"It's just the stress every time it rains - and still nothing is being done."

Elsewhere in Gwent houses on Llanthewy Road, Newport.

Shazia Ahmed, 28, said her parents' back garden resembled a swimming pool after a blocked drain led to massive amounts of water gathering in the back garden and streaming into the family kitchen.

Roads closed include the Newbridge road at the Trecelyn Bridge; the A48 at Penhow; the road at Taylors Garage, Coldra.

The A467 at Crumlin and the Raglan road are both passable with extreme care.

There were also 50mph speed restrictions on the M4 near Newport this morning because of spray.

Flood watches were in force on the River Usk in Monmouthshire and Newport, the River Wye in Monmouthshire, and the Rivers Ebbw, Sirhowy and Lwyd.

A spokesman for the Met Office said 20mm of rain (just under one inch) fell in Machen between midnight and 7am yesterday.