We weren’t dreaming of a WET Christmas
Families forced to f lee as rivers burst banks ahead of 80mph Storm Bella
THOUSANDS of families have been forced to spend another night away from their homes after widespread flooding brought havoc to swathes of Britain over the Christmas period.
Homes were evacuated in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Norfolk when heavy rain caused rivers to burst their banks ahead of the arrival of Storm Bella last night.
Severe weather warnings were issued for parts of Wales and southern England as winds of up to 80mph swept in from the Atlantic.
Driving rain is expected across much of the UK today and tomorrow with experts predicting travel disruption, flying debris and high waves along the coast.
On Christmas Eve, more than 1,000 people were forced to flee caravans at the Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park in Northamptonshire after the area was hit with 5ft of floodwater from the River Nene.
More than 1,300 households living near the River Great Ouse in Bedfordshire were also told to evacuate.
Debbie Radford had to rescue her father from his cottage in Odell, north Bedfordshire, after receiving an alarm call at 11pm. ‘I jumped in the car and we had literally an hour to move everything off the floor,’ she said.
‘We could save washing machines, fridges, carpets and furniture and then the water started coming through the walls.’
Last night, it was sitting throughout the whole ground floor. The water has risen 15ft.
‘The last time it was flooded was 22 years ago and from all the records in Odell, it has never been this bad,’ Debbie added.
Clare Devany, her husband James Hodgson and their two young daughters were forced to spend Christmas in a hotel in Peterborough after being ordered to leave their Bedford home.
‘You walk around and you just have to work out what to sacrifice. We moved paperwork, photos, all of the kids’ memorabilia, their toys – everything came upstairs,’ she said. ‘The only thing we didn’t touch because we didn’t have time was the kitchen.’
Residents around Bungay, Norfolk, were also evacuated on Christmas Eve because of flash floods.
Meanwhile, heavy rainfall in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, made many roads impassable while torrents of water from the Great Ouse began to seep into homes.
In Peterborough, Patrick Lloyd said much of his home had been submerged in water from the Nene, adding he helped rescue an elderly neighbour who was trapped without power.
There have also been blackouts in Cornwall, Bristol, Bath and Telford while more than 70 properties in Cirencester were l eft without power after an electricity substation flooded. Last night, Cogenhoe Mill caravan site, Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park and the River Great Ouse around Bedford were still under severe flood warnings, meaning a danger to life.
There were a further 69 flood warnings in place taking in the rivers Avon, Cherwell, Great Ouse, Nene and Severn.