Big fight to save flooded homes just days before Christmas following rain

COUNCIL workers battled for hours to save homes in South Derbyshire from “the worst flooding in 20 years”. just two days before Christmas in 1991.

Around 16 homes in Hatton, Scropton and Egginton were flooded but a rise in water levels by just a few centimetres would have flooded another 50 households.

Hatton residents were set for a wet Christmas after the flooding put the dampers on their festive cheer.

Some homes were filled with waist-high water as the River Dove burst its banks and submerged an entire street following heavy rain.

Resident George Coates of Marston Old Lane said: “I have lived here for 21 years and I have never seen anything like it.

“The water just devastated the place - we are fighting a losing battle trying to keep the water level down.

“All of our wooden floors have been ruined and so have our gas heaters. Unless we can get some heating sorted there is no way we can stay here for Christmas.”

His neighbour Brian Wortley said: “I cam home with my daughter about 11.30am and by that time cars couldn’t get up the street and there was water throughout the house.

“It was an absolute nightmare. We managed to get our furniture raised up away from the floor but the carpets were soaked and my fridgefreezer blew up.”

Mr Wortley said the entire experience had been deeply distressing.

He said: “It is not very nice watching the river come flowing through your living room just two days before Christmas.”

South Derbyshire District Council hastily built walls of sandbags with help coming from the fire service, the National Rivers Authority and the Nestle factory. The Nestle factory also helped with emergency accommodation for those impacted by the flooding.

The council’s chief technical officer, Vic Trigwell said: ”Another 50 properties would have been flooded if the water level had risen. Our sandbags also narrowly prevented a substation being flooded.”