Flood warning ignored – claim
Last updated at 14:48, Thursday, 26 November 2009
RESIDENTS in Kirkby have accused Cumbria County Council of ignoring warnings after they were left “virtually trapped” by flooding.
Marsh Side in Kirkby suffered badly during the recent floods.
As the tides from the Duddon Estuary rose and drains at the end of the road became unable to cope with the volume of water, residents found themselves trapped in their homes.
Mike Margeson, who lives at Marsh Side with his wife Rachael, said: “We spent two weeks asking the council to clear the drain at the end of the road and for weeks nothing was being done.
“At 12.15am on Friday it started flowing down this road. It wasn’t just a little stream it was like a river.
“We’ve lived here for 25 years this has never been as bad as this before. We didn’t expect it.”
Mr Margeson, head of Duddon Mountain Rescue Team, described how he felt “virtually trapped” by the incoming water.
He said: “The water was coming through the door but it was also coming up from the floor. As you bailed the water out it just came back up again. We were virtually trapped. It was about six inches deep here.
“We went and picked up a dehumidifier on Friday morning.
“The guy said it was his last one and he had ordered another 50. It cost us £150 for a week, at least his business will be doing well. But it’s a great little community, everyone has a community spirit and helped out.”
Kirkby Methodist Church is located in Marsh Side. The back room of the church was flooded with 15 inches of water, but local builder Colin Shepherd said the building was still structurally safe.
Mr Shepherd, who had been repairing the guttering prior to the floods, said: “The water flooded the back room, mainly because some of the roof tiles were still missing.
“The insurers are coming out this week to assess it, but the floor in this room is beyond repair, the space underneath the main hall is like a swimming pool.”
Diane Robinson also lives in Marsh Side. She woke up on Friday morning to two feet of water in her kitchen.
Mrs Robinson said: “I walked into the kitchen and walked into the water.
“It was a good couple of feet.
“We managed to pull the washer out but the carpets are all wet. Thankfully next door picked up some sandbags for me. It’s pretty frightening when you live on your own.”
A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “There are no faults with the existing highway drainage system as far as we are aware.
“However, the existing gullies do discharge into a soakaway which, although operational, does struggle to take the total run-off during very heavy rain.
“We are planning to resurface the bank at Wall End and are installing a double gully in the verge with a new outfall to take the surface water which currently drains down the hill.
“We are also investigating the possibility of installing a new gully nearer the bottom of the hill but any drainage system would no doubt have struggled to cope with the extreme rainfall we’ve experienced over the past week or so.”
First published at 12:56, Thursday, 26 November 2009
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
I agree with the comments of William Wood, I am also disgusted by the poor publicity for the appeal, which has been very localized. If it had happened "down south", you can bet your life it would have been plastered all over the national press.
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It is almost 4 weeks since we were flooded and have yet to date received very little help down here in Ulverston. What do we have to do to get some help?? Please help us out???
Posted by sharon phillipson-Reed on 14 December 2009 at 21:22