'My home of 70 years had never flooded - until now'

Arthur Ebinger was in his living room when flood water started coming through

"The situation is still on my mind when I go to bed," says 93-year-old Arthur Ebinger, as he recalls being rescued from his home of 70 years.

Mr Ebinger, from Syston in Leicestershire, has had to move into a nearby care home after flooding on 6 January caused extensive damage to his bungalow in Merton Avenue.

The former engineer was sitting in his living room when water started coming through the front door - and the water was "just over his ankles" when help arrived, he said.

His daughter Rose Underwood said: "As we came to rescue him in his wheelchair, we had to wade through [water] knee deep."

Ms Underwood cares full-time for her father after her mum passed away in 2021, and now lives next door to his bungalow to help him.

She said Mr Ebinger, who set up his own import and export business when he was 40, was "up to just over his ankles" in flood water at one stage.

Now, she says, the bathroom, the kitchen, the bedroom wardrobes - "everything has to go".

"That's all been taken out and pulled out," she says.

Ms Underwood said her father had to be rescued as flood water reached up to his ankles

Ms Underwood, whose home was also flooded and is temporarily staying with family, expects it could be months before her father can return home.

Mr Ebinger, who uses a wheelchair, said he had never experienced flooding in his home before.

He is now is staying at Cedar Mews Care Home in Birstall.

"It's quite a nice place, but it's not home, it's not my home," he said.

"They look after me quite well, I've got no complaints.

"I don't know how long I'm going to be here until I get back home."

A room in Mr Ebinger's bungalow which was damaged by the flood

A major incident was declared in Leicestershire earlier this month as dozens of people had to be rescued from flood water.

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service received hundreds of calls concerning flooding-related incidents that day.

Charnwood Borough Council said it had received about 250 reports of water inside homes and businesses after the floods began.

The council's lead member for waste, Anne Gray, said: "It's heart-breaking to see items that people might have saved up for, they might have sentimental value; they are just piled outside with water damage."

Serco waste collectors have been disposing of flood-damaged property

While some have been staying elsewhere while the clean-up operation continues, other people in Leicestershire have been unable to find temporary accommodation.

NHS worker Rosana Lopez's home in Alan Moss Road, Loughborough, said her house was also badly damaged during the floods.

The 55-year-old said she has had to put up with three noisy de-humidifiers running constantly to deal with the damage.

"At night sometimes I'm turning it off because I can't sleep, it gives me migraines," she added.

"Who wants this mess? No-one.

"Now we're like homeless, eating by our stairs because we can't use the kitchen."

NHS worker Rosana Lopez, 55, is also still repairing the damage caused by floods in Loughborough