Heavy rain has been wreaking havoc across Monmouthshire since the festive period, with journeys by road and rail subject to disruption.

After gales and torrential rain hit parts of Scotland and northern England it was the turn of the South West and Wales to batten down the hatches.

Arriva Trains Wales were unable to run services between Abergavenny and Pontypool and New Inn for several hours on Sunday (January 3) due to flood water on the railway tracks.

A spokesperson for Network Rail said, “Following a local flooding incident of heavy rainfall on Sunday, the railway at Nantyderry was closed for three hours.

“Our engineers attended the site and monitored the situation until it was safe to re-open the railway. We’d like to thank all passengers that were affected by the closure for their patience.”

The local fire service has also been active, helping stranded motorists and dealing with blocked culverts and overflowing drains.

Roads were also badly hit with a woman rescued from floodwater at Llanwenarth on Sunday after the wheels of her car got stuck in a ditch.

And many roads across the county were only negotiable with extreme caution, including the Raglan-Chepstow and Usk-Chepstow routes.

In Goytre at the weekend, a storm drain became blocked and caused flooding throughout the centre of the village.

Waves of floodwater caused by passing vehicles caused problems for two properties in the village throughout the Christmas period.

Richard Jones, landlord of the Goytre Arms, said, “I’ve only been at the pub three years but some of the locals say that these are the worst flood conditions they have ever seen in the village.”

He added, “It’s not been as bad for business as it could have been, but there was a noticeable difference at Sunday lunch when the A4042 to Llanover was closed.”

Amber flood alerts for the Rivers Wye and Monnow, issued by Natural Resources Wales, were still in place as the Chronicle went to Press.

At 12noon the level of the Wye at Ross-on-Wye was 4 metres and steady and the level at Monmouth 4.5 metres and falling.

The level of the River Monnow at Grosmont was 1.4 metres and falling after a peak level of 2.4 metres shortly after midnight. The level at Skenfrith was 2 metres and falling, after a peak level of 2.6 metres at 1.45am.

The River Lwyd at Blaenavon, and the River Ebbw in Brynmawr were also issued with amber warnings, but by Tuesday the water levels had began to decrease.

Monmouthshire County Council is keeping a blog of updates on the weather conditions at monweather.wordpress.com

Natural Resources Wales operates a 24-hour telephone information service called Floodline, which can be contacted via 0345 988 1188.