FLOODY HELL!

Deluge flats torn down

DEMOLITION work has begun on a block of flats left close to collapse by flooding.

A stone platform has been built to allow heavy machinery to access the doomed apartments.

Families were moved from their homes after the building’s foundations were washed away when a culvert collapsed during flash floods in September.

Nancy Blake, from the residents association of Spencer Court in Newburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, said no-one expected the block to be demolished, adding: “It’s a catastrophe.

“I don’t think anyone is expecting anything to come out of that building in one piece. The residents don’t want to be here today. It’s too painful for them.”

MGL Demolition MD, Mark Davison, said that workers would try their best to salvage residents’ possessions.

Residents of the eight flats are currently in temporary homes.

Nearly nine milion gallons of water was pumped out of the estate after the downpours.