Serious flood forces evacuation of sheltered flats

The water got into the flats when part of the ceiling collapsed

Residents of a sheltered housing scheme were forced to leave home overnight after a flood.

Part of the ceiling at Wollongong House in Corby, Northamptonshire, collapsed.

Some of the residents were taken in by relatives, while others spent the night at a hotel in Wellingborough.

The local council said it was assessing the damage and supporting those who were evacuated.

Wollongong House on Cannock Road in Corby has 31 flats

As first reported in the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph, the flood occurred in Wollongong House, a complex with 31 flats for older people.

One 70-year-old resident, who did not want to be named, told the BBC: "The fire alarm started going off at about 00:20 BST, and then it stopped, and then it started again."

She said the residents did not know whether it was a real alarm or not, but they decided to leave.

They found out that the ceiling had started to come down in part of the building and water was coming into flats on the first and ground floors.

The resident said: "People who'd got family or friends they could go to arranged to go and stay with them, a couple of people ended up in guest rooms at other sheltered developments, and there were nine of us ended up at a hotel in Wellingborough."

Council vans arrived this morning to clear the debris

Mark Pengelly, a Labour councillor for Lloyds ward, went to Wollongong House and said: "The place looks like a tornado's hit it.

"All the floor tiles are up, all the ceiling tiles are down, it stinks of damp and it looks like a flood zone."

He added that he had reported holes in the ceiling last week, but residents told him they were informed the problem had been fixed.

A number of roofing tiles fell off during the flood

The conservative-controlled North Northamptonshire Council confirmed that a "serious flood" had occurred at Wollongong House.

The council added: "Emergency services and council staff evacuated all residents safely to alternative accommodation either with family, friends or to temporary accommodation with no injuries reported.

"Our priorities now are to assess the damage to the property, and support those that have been evacuated following the incident."