THAT SINKING FEELING
Couple fear £200,000 home will have to be demolished as 10ft flood reaches roof
WHEN floodwater started seeping into their £200,000 bungalow, Kevin and Catherine Lorryman frantically began raising furniture and valuables off the floor.
But with the water rising at a foot an hour, they had to flee and could only watch as their belongings were swamped.
The flood quickly rose 10ft to the roof – and has caused so much damage they fear their home of 15 years will have to be demolished.
Yesterday as the water in Snaith, East Yorkshire, finally began falling slowly, the project manager and his wife, both 56, told of their shock. ‘What’s happened is a fact and we have got to live with it,’ Mr Lorryman said.
‘I’ve moved on from the initial shock now. One minute I’m normal, one minute I’m crying and one minute I’m laughing at something stupid. It’s such a rollercoaster of emotions.’
Only the master bedroom in the attic space escaped the devastation at the property they share with their daughter Kelsey Wilks, 29, her husband Christopher, 34, and grandchildren Joseph, five, and Georgina, four.
The Lorrymans had lived in the bungalow for 15 years without a problem – until a week ago when the River Aire burst its banks.
On Tuesday evening, council workmen arrived with sandbags to protect the property but by 7am the next day there was already 2in of water inside as the bungalow became one of 120 homes and businesses flooded in Snaith and neighbouring East Cowick.
Mr Lorryman dashed to buy a pump but returned at 9.30am to find the water 2ft deep. ‘We didn’t have time to think and raced around lifting things on to the kitchen and dining room tables thinking that would be OK,’ he said.
By the afternoon, there was no choice but to evacuate, taking only a few cherished family photos.
‘I wanted to put my waders on and get stuff out but my wife stopped me and told me I could injure myself and it wasn’t worth the risk. There was nothing more we could do.’
Mr Lorryman said his insurance company had been ‘ brilliant so far’. He has been told it will be at least a week before anyone can step foot inside to assess the damage and believes insurers will decide it is easier to demolish the bungalow and rebuild it.
Locals have been angered by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s refusal to visit flood areas – around 4,300 properties across England and Wales have been hit as a result of storms during the wettest February since records began.
Fiona Walker, who had to evacuate her mother Maureen Cooper, 80, from her flooded home in Snaith, said: ‘There is a disaster here and he needs to show support and help the people who voted for him.’
Nationally there were 74 flood warnings still in place last night with 15 rivers in the Midlands, Yorkshire and Lancashire having recorded their highest ever levels.
Environment Agency director of operations Toby Willison said communities in Yorkshire and along the River Severn were ‘not out of the woods completely’.
‘There is no room for complacency, people need to continue to be cautious and take the advice of emergency services,’ he said.