Article: published on 29 February 2024

A hamlet in Somerset was left underwater for this first time in living memory after heavy rainfall.

One resident in Dean, near Shepton Mallet, said her shared cesspit overflowed for the first time since she moved in, causing waste from her home and her neighbour's to fill her house.

Meanwhile, other residents told BBC Radio Somerset the rainfall was so severe the nearby river backed up nearby culverts, raising the water table, flooding their homes.

Somerset Council said it understands it is a "distressing situation", and wants to work with homeowners to establish who is responsible for the drainage.

Local artist Alce Harfield said she believed the water table was so high from the rainfall last week, that the cesspit she shares with her neighbour "backfilled down the pipe, into our kitchen and dining room... which were filled with something we didn't want to be in there".

Speaking to BBC Radio Somerset, Ms Harfield said: "It was a bit horrendous really, but luckily we were away at the weekend working so we did what we could and just forgot about it until we came back."

She added: "The worst thing has been the smell.

"The kitchen cabinets need replacing and the dishwasher seems to be on the blink... and the freezer and the fridge."

Ms Harfield said when river levels rise, residents can often divert water with sandbags, but this time their efforts were in vain.

Down the road, Claire and Andrew Damon were first alerted to something being wrong when their dog woke them up barking at 04.30 GMT.

Mr Damon said he laid some sandbags down to try and head off the water, and going back to bed, before waking up hours later to see their ground floor submerged.

"It got to two inches," he explained.

Mrs Damon added: "It was just overwhelming not knowing when the water was going to stop rising and whether you were going to be able to protect the furniture.

"Some of the most distressing moments, bizarrely, was the dog not coping very well and paddling around, as well as the sheer reality of the damage - we started to lift the floor to see masses of water underneath."

Even four days after the flooding, water still covered parts of the floor, and the couple, who bought the home 10 years ago, were still pumping heavy flows of water from the property.

They believed a culvert near their home backed up, causing the flooding.

In response, Somerset Council said: "We understand this is an extremely distressing situation for homeowners.

"As the Local Lead Flood Authority (LLFA) it is Somerset Council’s role to investigate flood events affecting people’s homes and businesses.

"In order to build an understanding of events the council needs to gather as much information as possible and it relies on property owners to assist in this process so the team can build as complete picture as possible of the likely causes.

"Working with partners the team will try to establish ownership and relevant responsibilities for drainage and foul water assets in the area and would like to work with residents on this.

"We would always ask the public to report internal flooding as soon as possible."