Fund appeal for car dealer hit by floods
A CAR dealer who lost everything in last weekend’s floods – and had to be rescued from her warehouse – has been touched by the kindness of strangers.
Joan West, 60, of Almondbury, couldn’t get insurance and lost 16 cars as floodwater engulfed her premises.
Joan, 30 years in the motor trade, ran Joan West Car Sales from a unit at Kirklees Steelworks in Grove Street, Brighouse.
When Storm Ciara hit on Sunday, Joan’s premises were wiped out, with losses estimated at up to £50,000.
Joan has been cleaning up all week but says she has been heartened by the support she has received.
“At first I thought I couldn’t do this again but everyone has been so kind,” she said. “The support we have had has been amazing.
“A lady doctor rang me – who I didn’t know – and said she and her six-year-old daughter had saved £200 for a rainy day and she wanted to give it to me.
“I’ve been in tears at the kindness of strangers. I told her that her words and thoughts meant more to me than the £200 and that she should take her daughter out with the money.”
Joan was at home with her partner, JD, when the storm hit. She checked CCTV at the premises and the couple decided to go down to make sure they could save what they could.
But in the 20 minutes or so it took to get there, the situation had become worse.
As the couple went into the warehouse to start moving things to safety the water levels rose outside. Minutes later when they tried to open the door they found it jammed due to the weight of water outside.
“It was amazing how quickly the water rose and when we decided to go we found we were trapped,” said Joan, who has run her own business for seven years.
The couple rang motor trade friends Rob Holgate and Matt Palmer, of Quarterbridge Cars, who came rushing to help. “At this point the water was up to my waist but I still wasn’t scared,” said Joan.
“When eventually Rob and Matt got the door open it was like a tsunami. We managed to wade out but it had taken all the cars. The scale of it was unimaginable.”
The water was up to the car windscreens and the only two cars to survive were two that Joan had sent to the bodyshop to be repaired.
Joan has filled three skips this week but is still clearing up. She couldn’t get insurance due to the flood risk and her business interuption insurance won’t pay out.
“I have had to have a difficult conversation with the bank because I run my business on an overdraft,” she said. “But they have been very good and so have
Calderdale Council.
“I see people on TV who have lost their homes but at least I can go home, get warm and have a glass of wine. We live to fight another day.”
One of Joan’s customers has set up a GoFundMe page to raise £7,500 for her.
She is now looking to the future and said: “Initially I thought I couldn’t do this again, it seemed too massive, but I don’t want to give up. It’s my life and my livelihood.”
The GoFundMe page is www. gofundme.com/f/joan-west-carsales-fundaiser-after-flooding