Residents hit by floods call for 'drastic action'

Firefighters carry a baby across a flooded lane in Hitchin

Residents whose homes were flooded have demanded "drastic action" from the authorities at an emotional meeting.

Families from Hitchin who were evacuated from their homes on Friday after the River Purwell burst its banks met with their local MP, the council and the fire service.

"We need some immediate flood action response to reassure us that we can actually move back into our homes," said Jay Cooper, who cannot live in her house because of the flood damage.

A spokesperson for Anglian Water said responsibility for flooding and drainage required "a combined response from all involved to address the issue in the long term".

With more rain forecast for Sunday night, Hertfordshire County Council said sandbags would be provided to at-risk areas.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had pumped millions of litres of water in Hitchin and crews had "worked tirelessly".

Homes in Hitchin were flooded when the River Purwell burst its banks

At the meeting, Susanne Leigh, a mum with a young child, described her "devastation".

"We’ve done a lot of work on our house: damp treatment, rewiring, restoring floorboards, re-plastering.

"It feels like this could be a complete waste now – and we’ve got concerns about selling."

She wanted to know what "preventative measures" could be put in place by the authorities.

"Are they going to be able to stop it from breaching our houses again or are we going to be back in this position again next week, next month?"

Around 40 residents gathered at the Millstream pub to discuss the flooding

Ms Cooper, 33, who is leading the campaign for action, said she felt "angry, dejected and frustrated".

She said Saturday's meeting, at the Millstream pub, had brought some comfort.

"You feel helpless as an individual, but as a collective I hope we can hold the agencies, council, Anglian Water and the Environment Agency to account - because clearly drastic action is needed.

"We are hoping to get a strategy in place with short-term and long-term actions."

Jay Cooper and her partner are unable to live in their house after flooding left it unsafe and without power

The Labour MP for Hitchin, Alistair Strathern, said it was "heart-breaking" to hear the residents' stories.

"It is important to make sure there is a firm review of the response, especially around how agencies work together.

“But we need to make sure mitigations are put in place in future: drains cleared, rivers dredged, for when we do have those flash floods," he said.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: "Our contractors have a scheduled programme of drain and gully clearance, but the simple fact is that when a river overflows it banks there is too much water for the drains to deal with."

The fire service's area commander, Wayne Gibbons, said it is looking at "preventative measures"

Wayne Gibbons, area commander for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "Once the rain had momentarily subsided, we started looking at preparedness and putting preventative measure in place."

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: "Our teams are working hard across the region to ensure our sewer network is running as it should and can take this surface water away as quickly as possible."

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: "All of our flood control structure are operating as intended, with no communities being flooded in place of others."