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DEVASTATED

Residents have hit out at Yorkshire Water and their housing authority after their homes were ravaged by floods.

The inundations caused thousands of pounds' worth of damage to people's homes and at least one family say they have may have to find temporary accommodation until their home becomes liveable again.

Up to 20 homes in Millennium Way and Maple Walk were affected by the floods after heavy downpours battered the East Riding last Thursday evening.

Drains and road gulleys in the two streets overflowed, causing surface water to pour into the sewerage system and into people's homes.

Goole Mayor Cllr Kevin Flynn, who visited the flood victims on Saturday, described their plight as a""tragedy".

He added: "To happen once is bad enough, but this is three times in four years . They've spent all this money on the new drainage system and it obviously isn't working, so questions need to be asked."

Firefighters were called out to help with the clean-up operation on Thursday night but by that time the damage had already been done.

The following day, residents and contractors from their housing association, Headrow Housing Group, removed furniture, children's toys and kitchen appliances from homes.

Many residents piled sandbags up against garden fences after hearing dire weather forecasts predicting more heavy storms.

The sheer scale of the damage wrought by the floods was all too clear as gardens and skips filled up with water-damaged household items.

Some residents told how raw sewage, including faeces and used tampons and condoms, had seeped into their homes.

One or two broke down in tears as they told how the floods had ruined household appliances and damaged carpets and upholstery.

The fire service said that about 20 houses had been affected.

Most of those homes were on Millennium Way, where floodgates had been installed by Headrow.

However, residents say the gates were not effective and water entered their homes through their front doors.

They are also furious at what they see as the authorities' failure to sort out the drainage problems in the area, despite four years of consecutive flooding and repeated promises to do something about it.

At least one resident is considering legal action against Headrow and another says he is considering refusing to pay his Yorkshire Water bill.

One couple, Daniel Penistone and his fiancée Linda Tute, said the floods had caused £6,000 of damage in their house, for which they are not covered by insurance.

It was the fourth time in as many years that the couple's house on Millennium Way had been affected by the floods.

The water began to seep into their home at about 7pm - just seven minutes after the clouds burst.

Mr Penistone (24) said: "We can't get any insurance because we've been flooded before. The housing association told us there was no chance of getting flooded again."

He added: "We feel betrayed. If they (Yorkshire Water) had come out and sorted the drains like they have said they would over the last four years, then there would have been a high probability these houses wouldn't have been flooded."

Mr Penistone said he couldn't afford insurance because the premiums in their flood-prone estate were so high.

"We've been here a year and over that year we've managed to find stuff to make the house look nice," he said. "We'd just got it to look really nice when this happened."

KITCHEN APPLIANCES RUINED

Virtually all the the couple's kitchen appliances - including their cooker, washing machine, fridge and freezer - are all ruined.

On top of that, most of the toys they had bought their 23-month-old son Kayden have been damaged beyond repair, as have their living-room carpet and their £800 surround-sound DVD and stereo system.

The couple's £2,000 leather sofa has also suffered extensive water damage.

"It happened so fast that we could hardly save anything on the ground floor," said Mr Penistone.

He added that when civil engineers were sent out out to the estate prior to the latest floods, they guaranteed residents "100 per cent that this would not happen again".

"We have told them how we think it can stop happening, but they just won't listen to us," he said.

Much of the problem appears to stem from the lie of the estate, in which the road is about two feet above the houses, meaning the walkways leading to each property slope down, allowing surface water to reach homes.

Mr Penistone said: "We have been in a lose-lose situation all the way."

The damage to the couple's home is so bad Headrow has offered to put them up in a hotel free of charge.

"I can't knock them for that but I can knock them for not doing for what God knows how many people have told them for years," added Mr Penistone.

Sharon Branke, who lives a few doors away, said she was considering legal action against Headrow. She said she may also refuse to pay her rent.

The mother-of-three had to look on helpless as flood water - including raw sewage - seeped into her newly-decorated home.

It was four years to the day that Ms Branke's home had suffered serious damage in a previous flood.

Miss Branke said the surface water was getting in under her doorstep, which made the floodgates useless.

"They (the floodgates) are a waste of time," she said. "But we have to prove we have them to get insurance."

Last year, when heavy rain fell, the floodwater just reached Ms Branke's porch.

But on this occasion it swept through every room on the ground floor, leaving a trail of destruction that put paid to her fridge-freezer and other appliances.

"My house was only decorated a fortnight ago," she said. "I managed to get the carpet up in time but you shouldn't have to live like this.

"I'm going to see my solicitor because I've just had enough. If they evict me then so be it; you've got to take a stand. They've done nothing and they even sent us a letter saying it won't happen again as long as you use the floodgates.

"When you're told it's not going to happen again that's when you buy nice things for your house. I've just put new wallpaper up but I've got to take it all down now because the water seeped through. The house was looking so nice."

ROAD WAS 'LIKE A RIVER'

Partners Sue Tomlinson and Peter England, who live on Maple Walk, which adjoins Millennium Way, were hit for the second time in three years.

"The way this estate slopes is just ridiculous," said Mr England. "That road was just like a river when the rain fell."

Mr England, whose living-room carpet was damaged and back garden flooded, added: "Everybody was helping each other; all the kids were helping out until 10.30pm. They were fetching sandbags for everybody."

Kathryn Turner, whose house was also flooded, said: "Once it (the rain) started that was it. It came through the fence like a waterfall. We put the floodgates up but it still flooded."

Paul Common, Headrow's director of operations, admitted the floodgates had not worked as well as expected.

"They do seem to have been a disappointment," he said. "They may have worked themselves but unfortunately water has found its way in [to people's homes] by other ways.

"They [the floodgates] were always the back-up. We thought they would keep more water out, but they haven't worked as well as we thought they would."

He added that Headrow, which is based in Leeds, had spent about £55,000 on floodgates and other defence work.

"It's up to Yorkshire Water now," said Mr Common. "We never gave up but there really isn't much more we can do.

WATER HAD NOWHERE TO GO

"Yes, there was a volume of water, but it shouldn't cause these problems. The water didn't seem to have anywhere to go."

Mr Common said he sympathised with residents, adding: "It's an awful thing to have to go through once, but it's happening every year. I feel gutted."

He said Headrow had sent loss adjusters and other experts to the estate to help with the recovery process.

The association had also written a letter of complaint to Yorkshire Water.

"There is a fundamental issue that is not within our remit to put right," he said. "We are at the end of our tether about this."

In November, 2006 Yorkshire Water sent a letter to residents telling them that alterations had been made to the sewer network on Hook Road to stop water backing up onto the bottom of Millennium Way.

A spokesman for Yorkshire Water said this week: "We appreciate that any incident of sewer flooding is unpleasant and reassure customers that the company treats any internal flooding cases as a priority.

"A number of towns across north and east Yorkshire were hit by the heavy storms, including Goole. The heavy downpours innundated the drainage system, meaning that there was too much rainwater entering the road gulleys, running down the highway drains and into the public sewers.

"In the case of Millennium Way we are aware of, and are dealing with, a number of internal flooding incidents.

"We currently have people on site investigating what can be done to help those people affected. At this stage it is too early to determine the direct cause of the flooding. However, Yorkshire Water will be carrying out an assessment on its sewerage system in the area.

"The company is already looking at potential investment needed in this area to help alleviate the problems and will keep residents updated on progress. Yorkshire Water would like to reassure customers living on Millennium Way that the company is treating this issue as a high priority."

A spokesman for Humberside Fire & Rescue Service said firefighters helped to remove water from up to 20 homes on Millennium Way, Maple Walk and Attlee Drive.

He added that about four to six inches of water had entered the properties, but by the time fire crews arrived the level was already beginning to subside.

"We started receiving calls from 7.50pm until 9.30pm," he said. "In total we received 16 calls for assistance for flooding in Goole."

MISERY FOR LOCAL PEOPLE

Goole MP, Ian Cawsey said: "It is extremely distressing for all involved that Millennium Way and other locations flooded again last week. The last time there was a bad flood in Millennium Way I chaired a meeting of all the agencies involved to try to get them to work together to find a solution to this ongoing problem.

"There was an agreement to put in place improved drainage but clearly more needs to be done. Over the weekend I was contacted by Cllrs Pat O'Neil and Keith Moore to discuss ongoing flooding problems in the area and the Town Mayor, Cllr Kevin Flynn, has also been in touch specifically about Millennium Way. We are meeting next week to discuss what more we can do to get the agencies to work together to help alleviate this misery for local people."

Published on 14th August 2008 in News.

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