HELL’S BELLA
Storm piles on the misery for families following washout on Christmas Day
STORM Bella left a trail of devastation yesterday after 100mph winds and torrential rain caused power cuts, more flooding and transport chaos.
It piled on the pain after hundreds of homes were flooded on Christmas Day and Boxing Day when heavy rain caused rivers to break their banks.
Gales hit Wales and the south coast – with a 106mph gust recorded on the Isle of Wight in the early hours of yesterday.
In Aberdaron, north west Wales, gusts reached 83mph, while Portland in Dorset was hit by wind speeds of 79mph.
The high winds brought down power lines across the country, leaving many homes without electricity.
Falling trees caused power cuts in South Wales, Cornwall, Bristol, Hampshire and Norfolk. Northamptonshire,
Bedfordshire and Peterborough in Cambridgeshire were worst affected by flooding with some roads forced to close.
Parts of Oxfordshire, Lincolnshire and Worcestershire were also hit, while Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said parts of Cumbria saw 4.2in of rain in just 24 hours, amounting to around two thirds of the monthly average.
Two “threat-to-life” flood warnings remained in place in Northamptonshire yesterday, where two caravan parks were left underwater and more than 1,000 people evacuated on Christmas Day.
In total there were 108 flood warnings and 204 Environment Agency flood alerts across England.
Great Western Railway said it halted services between Bournemouth and Southampton due to water on the line and a major branch into London was
blocked by a tree on the tracks in Haslemere, Surrey. A similar closure happened Hastings, East Sussex.
The Port of Dover said Channel crossings had been affected, with in strong winds and fog leaving a “risk of delays”. It came after Victoria Granger, 45, husband John, 52, and their sons Ezra,
14 and Jed, two, were stranded in their Bedforshire home on both Christmas and Boxing Day by floodwater from the River Great Ouse. Their car is thought to have been written off and water destroyed their white goods in a utility room. Victoria said: “I sat at my kitchen window all night on Christmas Eve watching the water get closer and closer. I couldn’t sleep, but at 6am two excited boys woke up thinking Father Christmas had visited.
They were oblivious that our house was surrounded by the river. We were comp lete ly marooned so just cracked on and had fun. The power downstairs even returned at midday. I managed to get Christmas dinner with all the trimmings on the table by 3pm.”
Victoria added the family had been “overwhelmed by support from the community” in the village of Harrold.
Steve James, 58, who lives around 40 miles away in St Ives, Cambs, had to rescue his puppy on Christmas Eve after waking to find his home flooded.
He ran downstairs where eightmonth-old Charlie was in a sorry state
PETERBOROUGH Woman rides her horse on swamped road
in his cage. Steve said: “I thought, ‘Oh my God… the dog’s dead’.
“He was more or less on tiptoes with his muzzle sticking out of the water, shivering. I grabbed him, ran upstairs and wrapped him in a quilt. He faded in and out a few times, and then came back, and he’s right as rain now.”
Steve, his wife and their three children, aged 14, 16 and 18, lost all their presents in the flood and have been temporarily housed in a fishing lodge.
He added: “I’ll never forget the love this community has shown to us.”
On Boxing Day North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service rescued several stranded motorists.
One couple and their two dogs had a narrow escape after their car was washed down a road.
A fire service spokesman said:
“Personnel were in water rescue gear unable to reach the occupants of the car, so we waited for the specialist water rescue team from Richmond to help using their boat.
“All OK, except for the car.”
One silver lining was that more than half the country’s electricity was generated by wind power for the first time. Energy firm Drax said 50.67% came from turbines on Boxing Day.
Yesterday the Met Office warned ice and snow would next to hit Scotland, northern England, Northern Ireland and parts of North Wales.
Up to 2ins of snow is expected to fall on higher ground.
Mr Partridge added: “It will stay very cold thanks to northerly air.”
VICTORIA GRANGER ON BEING TRAPPED BY FLOODS