‘My house has been flooded twice in four years’

Gabrielle Dainty's home was inundated with flood water on New Year’s Eve

A woman whose home has been inundated with flood water for the second time in four years has called for more support from the local council for "the long journey ahead".

Gabrielle Dainty, who lives in Lymm, Warrington, said water as well as dirt and sheep excrement from a nearby field flooded into her front room “dead on midnight on New Year’s Eve”.

She said while the council arrived with sandbags after her house had already flooded, she had not heard from the authority since.

Warrington Borough Council chief executive Steven Broomhead said he would personally coordinate support for Ms Dainty, and called for the government to invest in better drainage infrastructure and flooding schemes.

‘Shocking’

Ms Dainty said it was "shocking" how quickly her house had become inundated with flood water.

She told BBC Radio Manchester: "At half seven the road was clear, to midnight we were flooded.”

She said it had been different to her last experience of having her house flooded during Storm Cristoph in January 2021.

She added: "We were told it was a one-in-a-100-year event and obviously it's not.

"We need to find out where it came from, why it happened."

Ms Dainty said little had changed since her house had last flooded, after which she worked with the council's flood risk manager.

Ms Dainty says the council arrived with sandbags after her house had already flooded this time

She said: "We hit all the criteria for this special report to be done for flood risk and what needs to be done, and that has not been done."

"I want a bit more support in the level of cleaning. Not just the drains. It's got to be all along the road, the leaves and everything.

"We want to stay here, this is our home, we love living here."

Broomhead told BBC Radio Manchester: "Obviously we're sorry for the situation Gabrielle finds herself in.

"If Gabrielle would like to contact my office I will personally co-ordinate some support for her."

‘Out of the blue’

Broomhead said while the council had done as much as it could, it was “just not possible to prepare for storms of this nature that just appear virtually out of the blue“.

He said residents would likely continue to be impacted by major flooding in the future due to climate change, and called for more investment from government in flood mitigation.

He added: “We want to see that be a government priority within the net zero agenda.”

Floods Minister Emma Hardy said: "My thoughts are with the people, businesses and communities impacted by flooding, particularly those in and around Greater Manchester and Cheshire.

"I have met with officials from the Environment Agency to ensure that impacted communities are receiving the necessary support and I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe.

"The government is working at pace to accelerate the building of flood defences through our new Floods Resilience Taskforce, so we can continue to protect people and their homes."