SOME OF the wettest weather in living memory has left a trail of destruction in its wake leaving two Forest villages counting the cost of flood damage.

The normally sleepy villages of Ripley and Sopley have become notorious in recent days as the flood blackspots of the Forest. Twelve properties have been flooded and Ripley has been cut off in what Carl Michalski of New Forest District Council described as: "The worst flooding the area has seen in 40 years."

Dog breeder Aileen Speding has lived in Ripley for the past 35 years, but this is the first time that the main part of her house has been flooded.

"In November and December we had a severe flood in the village which ran along the side of our house," she said.

"At the time we had a litter from our champion Smooth Collie bitch, and they were housed in a room adjacent to the lounge which was at a slightly lower level.

"At 3am we heard her barking and went down to find her three-week old puppies paddling in three inches of water, and her trying to rescue them," said Aileen.

"Now the floods are back, and we have christened the puppy that we have decided to keep as 'Noah'.

"We also have a Corgi bitch that lives upstairs. She came down in the mornng to find 18 inches of water downstairs, and with a disdainful look at us she simply started swimming."

Although Mrs Speding's house is near a brook, the flooding has come from nearby fields.

"It just ran down the road from the direction of Sopley School - that road resembled a river," she said.

"Everyone in the village now has shoulder-ache from baling out their houses.

"Now none of us can move - the whole village is suffering.

"But we have no option other than to get on with our lives."

In Sopley The Swannery Restaurant at Sopley Mill has been closed for a period of drying out after flooding affected the building's ground floor, but it is business as usual in the first and second floor restaurants which luckily escaped any damage. Proprietor John Owen joked: "We are now calling it the Sopley Lakeside Restaurant" as the stream which normally runs through the picturesque mill has now swollen to epic proportions.

At the height of the flooding crisis three roads were closed and two large trees which had blown down in earlier storms blocked the river.

The relentless downpours could also have an affect on local jobs in the timber industry. County foresters are battling to keep production going despite the soggy weather say the Forestry Commission. Production programmes have been shifted so that work is concentrated on the driest parts of the area's 100 timber producing inclosures.

Their efforts come amidst diffuculties experienced by riders trying to negotiate woodland tracks because of harvesting operations. A combination of excessive rain and the wheels of heavy machinery have left the trails deeply rutted and sodden. Donald Thompson, Forestry Commission Deputy Surveyor said: "We will be doing our upmost to rinstate forest rides as soon as possible after they have been used for forest operations but it cannot be done when the ground is sodden." He added " We know how important the trails are to people who come to enjoy our woodlands. We hope they will understand that the inclosures were created to be 'working woods'. They provide income for the nation and jobs for local people - operations cannot be put on hold."

Donald Thompson, Forestry Commission Deputy Surveyor said: "We will be doing our upmost to reinstate forest rides as soon as possible after they have been used for forest operations but it cannot be done when the ground is sodden." He added: "We know how important the trails are to people who come to enjoy our woodlands. We hope they will understand that the inclosures were created to be 'working woods''. They provide income for the nation and jobs for local people - operations cannot be put on hold."