Victims fear they have 'no future' as flooding destroys 250 homes
Flood victims in a part of South Yorkshire say they have “no future” as they live in fear of when the next flood will overwhelm them.
Chris Lloyd, 55, told The Mirror how in the last 11 weeks since 250 homes were destroyed in Catcliffe, Rotherham, they have twice “been terrified” it will happen again.
Talking as 15 fans and heaters dry out his home where the walls have been stripped back to the breeze blocks, he said: “It’s all we can talk about. We stand in groups watching the river rise. Twice we have been terrified of it happening again. Twice we've been warned to be prepared for flooding.
“We’ve looked at buying another house but we can’t afford anywhere else and this won’t sell now. It’s been a terrible Christmas, I went back to work early because I wasn’t in my own home, I was in a rented house. It’s like we’ve got no future. As you get older you want that security and comfort and it’s no longer here. There’s no life for us here. They need to come up with a plan for us, they just can’t say ‘it’s the climate’ and that’s it!”
In Catliffe, at least 15 families have moved into caravans parked on their drives. They told how they watched nervously as water levels rose yet again during Storm Henk.
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Chris Lloyd outside his home in Catcliffe, Rotherham, which has been hit by Storm Henk floods (Reach Commissioned)Lynsey France, 43, is living in a caravan on her drive with partner David Pickering, 56, son Charlie, five, and their Schnauzer dog called Jessie. They thought they would have to move their temporary home or that would go too.
They lost everything in October's Storm Babet floods as their insurance was two weeks out of date. In stark contrast to Chris their two tiny heaters and one larger one donated to them from a pal, are struggling to dry out their home.
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“We are very stressed with it all and I never thought I’d end up living in a caravan on my drive," the mum told us. “David has started working on the house and stripped the plaster back. He’s managed to do overtime too and save up £3,000 to help.
“But we’ve had to cut back on everything, limit days out for our son. I worry about the effect this is having on him." Charlie helps mum show us round their wrecked home, where their saved possessions are stored upstairs, even in the bath.
Lynsey France, son Charlie and Jessie the puppy are living in a caravan on their drive and fear further floods (Reach Commissioned)He lost most of his toys in the floods and told us: “Everything inside has gone and it makes me feel pretty sad.” His mum added: “I lost my mum in June and he’s missing her too. It’s rubbish and I feel drained.
“It puts a strain on your relationship too all living in a small space all the time. But we have got no help since it happened and we feel abandoned.”
She said they have only received £1,000 from the authorities which could not even pay for a new front door that won’t open any more. Jane Sharp, 65 and her husband Roy Sharp, 60, are going through losing their home for the second time to floods after being hit first in 2007. They are also living in a caravan but in their neighbour’s backyard.
Chris Lloyd's family still hasn't recovered from Storm Babet's floods in October (Reach Commissioned)“I think we’ve been used as sacrificial lambs this time to save Rotherham centre and Parkgate,” Roy added, who is one of several flood wardens in the area. “I felt disbelief when it happened to us again. But it’s inevitable it will happen again, we are living in a bowl.”
His wife agrees, adding: “I am annoyed that the authorities are not coming round regularly to clear the drains and pump them out. They don’t have to wait until we have floods, they should be maintaining the area all the time.
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Jane and Roy Sharp are living in a caravan on their neighbours' drive after Storm Henk flooded their home (Reach Commissioned)“Also they have to stop allowing property developers to build on land that floods. It’s causing us long-term problems. We’ve only had a bit of rain but the river is up to the bottom of the bridge it flows under.”
Their neighbours told how they used a large van to move the brand new kitchen stored in the garage. Kimberley Merrill, 38 and her husband Neil, 54, are lucky to have dried out their home quickly thanks to their builders and were ready for their new kitchen to go in.
“As the water levels started to rise we had to shift the brand new kitchen. It took my husband four hours," Kimberley said. “Other than that I’ve got nothing else here to ruin.”
Her builder, Nathan Smith, had only a year before built them a new kitchen but it was destroyed under six feet of water in Storm Babet. But Kimberley is determined to stay put whatever happens next. “Our business, a garage is opposite and this is our home. We have put a lot of money into it, we want to be here.”
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