You’re risking lives
Police chief’s fury as officers forced to hunt for dam evacuees who were allowed back to collect belongings ... but didn’t return
A POLICE chief has hit out at Whaley Bridge dam evacuees who were allowed to return briefly to their homes – but stayed there.
Rachel Swann, deputy chief constable of Derbyshire Police, said residents were putting lives at risk because officers had to go looking for them.
Some homeowners were allowed in to the Derbyshire town for a maximum of 15 minutes on Friday and Saturday, but about 35 ignored pleas by the police to return to checkpoints outside the exclusion zone.
Condemning the culprits, Miss Swann said: ‘These people are putting the lives of officers at risk as further checks have to now be completed to ensure those residents are out of the area safely.
‘The officers carrying out these checks are mothers, fathers, partners and friends. I want my officers to be able to return to their families at the end of their shifts – not be put in harm’s way.’
Around 1,500 people have so far been evacuated from homes below the dam, which remained in a ‘critical’ condition. Hundreds more residents were warned they may need to evacuate if it bursts. Miss Swann, who yesterday suspended visits to Whaley Bridge, said the threat to life remains high and told residents they could be out of their homes for at least another two days – and up to a week.
She told 400 people gathered at a makeshift evacuation centre at a school in neighbouring Chapelen-le-Frith that a fleet of 16 rescue boats are on standby if the dam fails.
However, business owners hit back at police over the limited time they were given to go back to their properties. One trader said: ‘Fifteen minutes is not enough when you are trying to save livelihoods.’ A farmer added: ‘I’ve been having to sneak in to feed my livestock. I have to put my life at risk or my livestock die.’
Derbyshire Police said a ‘handful’ of homes in Furness Vale and New Mills – downstream from the reservoir on the River Goyt – were evacuated as a further precaution. Further down the Goyt Valley in Greater Manchester, hundreds of homes in Marple were warned by leaflet about the risk of flooding.
However, Greater Manchester Police said the advice was only a precaution at this stage. Several roads including the A6 and two main rail lines also remain closed where they cross the Goyt.
The threat of rain held off yesterday as efforts continued to pump water out of the stricken Toddbrook reservoir and prevent the collapse of the dam, which was damaged during torrential rain on Wednesday.
Emergency crews said they were able to drain water levels by nearly four inches an hour, and by mid-afternoon yesterday the level had dropped by ten feet since the operation began. Water will be pumped out of the reservoir, which has a capacity of 286million gallons, until engineers can view the damage in the wall.
The Met Office yesterday issued a yellow weather warning covering the North of England including the Peak District. Forecasters predict no let-up in the unsettled weather – which comes after recordbreaking heat in July – until at least the middle of the month. More heavy showers, including thundery downpours, are predicted over the coming days.
Work was taking place yesterday to use the 530 tonnes of aggregate dropped by RAF Chinook helicopter to repair the damaged spillway. More giant bags of aggregate were being diverted to streams that feed in to the reservoir.
On a visit to Whaley Bridge on Friday, Boris Johnson promised that residents would be rehoused if the worst happened and the dam collapsed. Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers, who visited the site on Saturday, said she had seen ‘a reassuring amount of progress’.
Former Tory MP Edwina Currie said every reservoir dam may need a new inspection regime to ensure they can cope with the increased risk of severe weather. The ex-minister, who lives near Whaley Bridge, said: ‘If we have more regular occurrences of biblical weather... then we need to ensure they can cope.’