STORM BERT battered large parts of England and Wales this week, with high winds and flooding causing travel disruption and loss of life. In south Wales, a church service was cancelled, so that members of the congregation could help those dealing with flood damage.

At least five people are reported to have died because of the effects of the storm. A body was found on Sunday in the search for a man, Brian Penny, who went missing while walking his dog near to the flooded River Conwy in North Wales. Four people were killed in their cars in incidents related to the extreme weather conditions.

The Vicar for Community Engagement and Outreach in Pontypridd Ministry Area, the Revd Rachel Campbell, said that the Sunday morning service at St Catherine’s, Pontypridd, was cancelled, and members of the congregation instead went to help residents and business-owners who were trying to mitigate the effects of flooding.

Some people had been unable to get to the service owing to travel disruption caused by flooding, Ms Campbell said. A spontaneous decision was taken to cancel the service and help those in need.

Members of the congregation of Citizen Church, in Pontypridd, also helped in the clean-up effort, and gave out hot drinks and food.

In an article on the Church in Wales’s website, the Archdeacon of Llandaff, the Ven. Rhod Green, was quoted saying saying that he had been “inspired by the hard work of our local churches out on the streets, wading through flood waters to comfort, care, and clean up”.

Asked what the response among local residents had been, Ms Campbell said: “People were really touched; it was all really well received.”

Heavy rainfall caused flooding in south Wales; more than 400 homes were damaged, the Welsh First Minister, Eluned Morgan, said. Another 107 properties had been affected in England, the Environment Secretary, Steve Reed, said.

Some of those affected by flooding in south Wales were critical of the amount of warning that they had received: some had found out from their neighbours that there was a high risk of flooding.

The co-owner of Storyville Books in Pontypridd, Jenna Cowley, told The Guardian that she had only found out that there was a high risk of damage to the shop when she was notified by a neighbouring business; floodwaters had caused about £15,000 of damage. The shop was one of the businesses helped by volunteers from St Catherine’s.