Homes flooded after water pipe bursts

Residents said the water was gushing down the street and into their gardens "for a couple of hours" on Tuesday

Several homes have been badly damaged after a burst water main caused major flooding in Dewsbury.

Some residents had to be evacuated after water poured into homes and gardens on Walnut Lane in Dewsbury's Chickenley area on Tuesday night.

Resident Anita Clough said: "All I've done is cry all night. It's a nightmare, my house is a complete mess."

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had sent four crews to the scene to help evacuate some residents and make the area safe.

Yorkshire Water said the water main had been repaired overnight, and it was supporting affected residents and helping with the clean-up.

Dawn Micklethwaite spent Wednesday morning trying to clean up the damage

Mrs Clough said she was first alerted to the flooding by the sound of gushing water at around 20:00 BST on Tuesday.

"It came into my garden, then came into the house: my hallway, living room, kitchen and lean-to were all flooded."

She said she had spent what money she had on refurbishing the council-owned property since moving in last March, and had recently had a new downstairs carpet fitted.

The 47-year-old, who lives with her two daughters, aged six and 19, said she didn't have any home insurance to cover the damage and had spent the night in a hotel.

"My carpets have been ruined, all my lino, my daughter's toy kitchen that she got for her birthday too.

"The house stinks - so everything is going to have be packed up and moved out so it can dry out."

Teresa Darnbrough said the water had flooded all the downstairs rooms

She said there was about a 1.5ft of water in the garden, which later came into the conservatory

Another resident, Teresa Darnbrough said water had flooded her garden, conservatory, kitchen and utility area.

She said neighbours came to the family's aid and helped scoop out the water using buckets.

"When it started to come in, I actually went hysterical.

"It was going on for a couple of hours, but as quickly as we were getting rid of the water, it was coming in.

"Everyone came round with mop buckets. The community round here were brilliant - people I've never spoken to came round and helped."

Her partner, Christopher, said about £5,000-worth of tools in the shed had been damaged.

"Everything was floating outside. I've got all sorts out in the sheds - cement mixer, woodchipper, grinders, tool boxes.... 30 years-worth I've collected."

Dawn Micklethwaite, who also lives on Walnut Lane, said she had spent the morning trying to clean up the damage.

"The water was up to my knees in the garden. We've had to pull the carpet up and just get it outside because of the smell of damp."

Ms Darnbrough said the full extent of the damage was still unknown

Yorkshire Water said the water main on Walnut Lane had burst and "caused flooding to four properties in the area".

A spokesperson said engineers “quickly completed a repair and restored water supplies to properties" overnight.

"We understand how distressing these incidents can be for customers and are arranging for our contract partners to complete a clean-up in the homes affected.

"We will continue to support the customers impacted."