'Heartbroken' mother counts cost of flood damage

Georgina Thomas says flood damage at her property is "heartbreaking", with furniture and electrical items written off

Georgina Thomas lives in dread of the next heavy downpour.

Mrs Thomas, whose Plymouth home was hit by flash flooding last month, said she was left heartbroken after parts of her property were inundated.

"We came in and it was under about a foot of water," she said. "You just think, is it going to come in again?"

She is one of a number of residents across Devon and Cornwall who have been left cleaning up, as the authorities say they are working to protect communities and improve resilience to flooding.

Mrs Thomas says water came into her home after a lane flooded, which she claims is because of drainage issues

"It's stressful and very time-consuming," said Mrs Thomas, adding that the flooding on 29 August was the second time her home had been affected after a similar incident in June.

The mother-of-two said sofas, chairs and electrical items had been written off.

She said: "The first time we thought it was a one-off, but it's happened again".

The family said they wanted Plymouth City Council to do more to investigate the cause of the flooding and share its findings with them.

"It's worrying for the business," says garage owner Paul Drake, whose business has been flooded twice in three months

Garage owner Paul Drake said it was "very worrying" that his premises had flooded twice since 25 June.

He said: "We are looking into flood defences, which would be a barrier inside the doors.

"But, at £17,000 or £18,000, it's a big layout for a small company.

"We don't know if it is going to happen again or if this is what the future holds."

Plymouth City Council said it was "all too aware of the increasing number of surface water flooding events" and it remained "committed to doing everything we can" to prevent them, reduce their impact and support communities becoming more resilient.

It said regular maintenance of 39,000 gullies included inspections and clearing blockages reported by the public, and it tried to target efforts "to those in areas known to be most susceptible to flooding".

But it added: "A complete solution to surface water flooding is not within the council's gift.

"The drainage and sewerage system in Plymouth, much of which is the responsibility of South West Water, is in many parts Victorian and was not designed to be able to cope with the amount of infrastructure that now relies on it, nor the amount of rainfall we see more regularly as a result of climate change.

"We will continue to work with and lobby our partners to bring forward the improvements needed to better protect our city."

South West Water said: "Our priority is always to help reduce the impact of flooding wherever we can. We understand the huge impact of flooding on local people and we're an industry leader in reducing flooding to homes and business.

"Surface water flooding is the responsibility of local councils, and we work closely with them to ensure a coordinated and practical response to help protect communities."

In response to Mrs Thomas's case, it said: "We are currently investigating the sewer network and the surrounding area using specialist CCTV equipment to identify any issues."

It added: "We are working to understand the situation fully and will carry out any necessary work."

The Trefusis Park Flood Relief Scheme should help reduce the risk of flooding in the Lipson Vale area of Plymouth during times of heavy rainfall

Meanwhile, work continues on the Trefusis Park Flood Relief Scheme, which is a Plymouth City Council project in partnership with the Environment Agency (EA) and South West Water (SWW).

The £4.5m sustainable drainage scheme should help reduce the risk of flooding to homes and businesses in Lipson Vale area by safely storing water during heavy rainfall, project bosses said.

Frank Newell, of the EA, said: "The increased storminess and extreme rainfall that we've seen in the last few weeks in Plymouth and across the country shows that these schemes are vital to help protect and increase the resilience of properties".

Janet Lockyer has installed flood gates and doors at her property after it was badly flooded in 2010

"It gives us peace of mind," said Janet Lockyer, from near St Austell in Cornwall, of the flood prevention measures that have been installed at her property.

Mrs Lockyer said flood gates and a pump that removed water from the front garden were installed using government-funded grants after her cottage was badly flooded in 2010.

"You watch your home destroyed in minutes; it was devastating. It's very important to be prepared", she said.

"We're helping people to be more resilient to flooding" said Emma Newberry, from the Cornwall Community Flood Forum, which is training volunteers to become flood wardens.

She said: "We're helping people answer the 'what if?' questions.

"What if the drains become blocked? What if the road becomes cut off with flood water?

"With climate change, we're going to see more surface water run-off, more flash flooding, so it's really important that people are ready".