A HAMPSHIRE MP has slammed the “unbelievable behaviour” of “joyriders” on flooded roads.

Meon Valley MP George Hollingbery said he has witnessed inconsiderate and dangerous driving during the recents floods, and has even heard reports of a road rage incident.

Mr Hollingbery was in Bramdean near Alresford at the weekend, where a resident said he was attacked by a driver when he asked him to slow down through the water.

The alleged attack, on the flooded A272 on Friday evening, happened when the man used a waving hand signal to ask the driver to cut his speed. The motorist stopped, reversed, and got out of his vehicle and allegedly tried to punch the resident.

“Luckily the resident said the driver only managed to connect with his torch, which hopefully must have hurt his hand, before he ran back to his car and drove off,” Mr Hollingbery said.

“It was quite a shocking incident for him to be involved in and unfortunately he didn't get enough time to take down his registration number.

“On Saturday, again in Bramdean, we watched a sports car drive so quickly through flood water it actually aquaplaned and ended up travelling sideways across the road before mounting the verge and finally gaining control before speeding off.

“In Hambledon there have been reports of drivers joyriding down the flooded East and West Streets and the Hambledon Road at up to 40mph just for the thrill, which is a truly stupid thing to do in around five inches of water as it causes a bow wave and even more flooding of properties."

He added: “Quite frankly I have been appalled by the absolutely unbelievable behaviour of some drivers who do not live in these areas and who don’t seem to care that they are driving inconsiderately at the least and very dangerously at the most.”

As water levels rose throughout the village last week, residents began to prepare for the worst.

Martyn (CORRECT) Terry, 33, whose family own Bramdean Garage, said: “We're getting some people coming in here and they get quite worried because they pump the water out of their properties, but if there is a power cut, they can't, and water has been at quite dangerous levels in the past. A lot of people have been getting their petrol pumps on standby and coming in to get their petrol cans filled up.”

A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary said the incident in Bramdean had not been reported to them.