Dungog SES controller Dawn Studdert said the family, who also had a 20-month-old baby, contacted them as they live on the other side of a causeway on Moores Road which was flooded.

“By the time they had contacted us on the Wednesday afternoon it was too late for us to do anything then,” Mrs Studdert said.

“We tried to get a chopper to airlift some food to them but they were all busy with the floods up north.

“On Thursday morning we went out but were unable to get across the causeway and it was flowing too fast for us to use the boat.

“The mother had already run out of nappies and by the time we got through on Friday afternoon they didn’t have much in the way of food left, only some noodles.

“They were very grateful to see us.”

More than 160mm of rain was recorded over the three days with SES personnel keeping an eye on the three local low level bridges Fosterton, Thalaba and Banfield, where water was across the road.

“We also sandbagged a business on Common Road to keep water out of the building,” Mrs Studdert said.

“There was a fair bit of water flowing across the Chichester Dam spillway on Thursday and the river was up to nearly six metres.

“But apart from that it was just a case of keeping an eye on everything.”