The rain has turned out to be nagging, persistent rather than torrential on the flood-stricken Somerset Levels. But it is unwelcome, topping up the moors and the hills that feed down into them - and dampening the mood.

"More rain is exactly what we don't need," said Tim Holmes, a gamekeeper turned volunteer sandbags organiser in Burrowbridge. He pointed out how the water had seeped another three metres or so closer to the village centre over the past two days. "It's rising like hell," he said. "And this water is toxic. It's full of sewage, heating oil, dead animals. I feel volunteers here are risking their health working in it. But we have no choice. Nobody else is doing it."