RESIDENTS in Covingham have been shocked to find their homes on a new Environment Agency flood map, despite having not seen flood water in 40 years.

The residents who live in Covingham and Dorcan would, according to the Environment Agency have their homes and streets under water as a result of overflowing water from Dorcan Stream, which carries water into the lake on Shaftesbury Avenue.

But according to residents living in streets near the stream, there has never been much more than slight surface water on nearby roads.

Jack Curlis, 69, a a retired tool maker from Gilling Way, Covingham, was one of the street's first residents almost 40 years ago.

"I was one of the first tenants, and I have never seen any flooding here in that whole time," he said.

"The closest we have ever come was when we had a lot of rain and that stream became a roaring torrent but it never broke its banks, it never came close.

"It is worrying though, all flooding is worrying but seeing this on a map makes me wonder if our insurance might go up."

John Kyte, 58, a kitchen fitter from the same street said: "I have never known there to be a problem with water around here and I have been here 30 years. I think if you spoke to anybody around here they would tell you same."

The new Flood Map allows homeowners and businesses to see if their property is at risk from potential flooding.

For those living in the Covingham and Dorcan area, the risk of flooding is as low as 0.5 per cent in a year and is unlikely to flood, unless extreme conditions occur.

But, according to residents, even when the town has experienced extreme weather conditions, such as the rainstorms that hit the town in August, little or no standing water was left behind.

Gary Thompson, 42 of Verney Close, who works at Swindon Pressings, said: "Even in the bad weather in August we had no problem at all, it just ran off into the stream and that was it."

According to the map, a number of small streams and rivers around the Swindon area could be prone to flooding, as could the area between East and West Swindon and parts of the Front Garden.

But the area between Covingham and Dorcan would be the largest urban area to be affected in the event of major flooding.

Anyone concerned about their property can view the flood map by visiting www.environment-gency.gov.uk.