Flash flooding caused chaos for much of the region as heavy rain, fierce winds and melting snow left the region mopping up.

The freak weather continued to play havoc with normal life in Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire with blocked roads, closed schools, landslips, power cuts, collapsed walls, flooded homes and the emergency services stretched to the limit. Flood warnings remained for dozens of rivers from East Devon through Somerset and Wiltshire to the Severn.

But weathermen at last brought some good news, there would be no snow, heavy rain or high winds for a few days.

Some parts of Somerset and Wiltshire experienced as much as three inches of rain in 24 hours up to yesterday morning, which melted much of the snow, flooding roads and bursting riverbanks.

Up to 3,000 homes in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire had been left without electricity because of the snow.

The Somerset village of Muchelney found itself virtually cut off, with flooded homes, while drivers got stuck as the waters rose overnight. In one incident, six people in three cars were pulled to dry land in Frome.

Firefighters rescued 10 people from cars stuck in overnight floodwater, among some 50 999 calls from flooded homeowners and motorists.

In Wiltshire, there were 40 calls, with roads still blocked in low-lying areas around rivers.

A spokesman for Devon and Somerset fire brigade said: "The areas for the flooding were Shepton Mallet, Ilminster, Wincanton, Somerton, Williton, Taunton, Bridgwater, Frome, Martock, Burnham-on-Sea, Wellington and Castle Cary.

"The calls involved a number of flooding inside properties and members of public who drove through floodwater and became stuck. The floodwater had reached the doors on the vehicles and the occupants were unable to get safely out of their vehicles.

"The fire service used dry suits to rescue the members of public and also manpower by pushing the vehicles out of the floodwater and making sure the vehicles and occupants were safe."

Drivers in Wiltshire who had been finding routes to work blocked by snow last week now found themselves battling flooded roads. At one point all but one of the A roads around Trowbridge were closed by the rising waters. Nine drivers had to be rescued by firefighters.

In Bath the car park at the city's sports and leisure centre was closed and water was lapping around the edge of Bath Rugby's home at The Rec.

The historic landmark Pulteney Weir was submerged and fields at Bathampton were also flooded. Rising floodwaters also left a parked car submerged.

Gloucestershire had more snow, six inches fell in some parts of the Forest of Dean, and more than 1,350 homes were left without power in the Forest and around Cheltenham because power lines were brought down by either strong winds, tree branches or the weight of the snow.

Most of those affected may not have known; power was restored by 4am to about 1,000 homes.

Snowploughs and gritters have been out in force in Gloucestershire, and council chiefs and flood defence bosses are now warning of the big thaw flooding that county in the coming days.

More than 50 schools in Gloucestershire were closed by the overnight blizzards and pupils at one school were told by their headteacher they might have to come in over the Easter holidays to catch up.

St Peter's High School in Gloucester was closed for three days last week. Head teacher Lawrence Montagu said it was crucial pupils caught up on the revision they had missed and staff would be putting on extra lessons at lunchtime and after school."

And the ice, slush and snow continued to cause problems in Wiltshire. Swindon's Link Centre ice rink was closed, ironically, because of a build up of snow and ice on the roof. That meant water was leaking through to the ice below, making the surface dangerous.

The ice and snow still lying around meant four schools in Wiltshire were either closed or partially closed.

But where snow and ice was no longer a direct problem, it was the flooding instead.

The River Cam in West Camel near Yeovil burst its banks and flooding affected homes in Yeovil and Taunton. A spokesman for Somerset County Council said: "It is dozens of homes rather than hundreds and it is flash flooding rather than inches. Most people have preferred to stay in their homes."

The heavy rain also caused one unusual road blockage, a 205-year-old Cotswold stone wall collapsed in the centre of Bradford-on-Avon, blocking Woolley Street.

Bradford residents bore the brunt of the flooding in Wiltshire. Sally Hanson found herself trapped upstairs in her property for the fifth time in two years.

The 48-year-old said: "I'm pretty fed up. This is the second time this year, and it happened three times last year. I've lost everything, my washing machine, my tumble dryer, and my big rug. My tables and chairs are all floating.

"I've been here all day. At midday it was coming up the garden. The fire brigade can pump water out of the Swan pub next door but here there's nowhere to pump it to.

"So I'll just have sit and wait. The water has hit the gas meter so there's no heat either. I do have electricity but that may go soon. I've got my dog here and she's been going mad. She'd love to go out for a walk, but she can't."

The Swan, displayed some British pluck and vowed to continued serving despite its car park being beneath two feet of water.

Manager Anthony Martin said: "People are in here, drinking as normal. It's only really the car park that is affected, although there is some at basement level.

"Although the river is flowing quite roughly and quickly it doesn't seem to be creeping up any more."

The Environment Agency said flooding was still a danger, as more snow melted in the calming weather.

"Agency staff were deployed across the region last night to maintain schemes and ensure the trash screens were free of debris," said Alan Rafelt from the Environment Agency.

"Our teams also worked around-the-clock monitoring the rainfall and the river levels and making sure people were sent the appropriate flood warnings. River levels are continuing to rise on the River Stour, Hampshire Avon and Wylye but the next few days are predicted to be dry so that will give the saturated ground and rivers time to recover.

"The weather has calmed considerably with 29 flood warnings and 45 flood watches in place for the South West. The weather forecast says it will be mainly dry with sunny spells."