'Our flooded home is unsafe for our twin babies'

A head and shoulders shot of a man looking directly into the camera with short ginger hair and a ginger beard. He is wearing black-framed glasses and has a worried expression. A window and bookshelf can be seen in the background. Image source, Harry Parkhill/BBC
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Tom Wright woke up to find his home flooded for a second time

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A dad has said his home is "not safe" for his three-month-old twin daughters after it was flooded by 4in (10cm) of water.

Tom Wright, who lives in Pointon, Lincolnshire, said the entire ground floor of the house had been damaged – just a year after it was previously inundated.

The Lincolnshire Resilience Forum (LRF) declared a major incident in the county after at least 97 homes were affected.

The Environment Agency issued 34 flood warnings for Lincolnshire, external, including areas near Bourne, Grantham, Lincoln and Sleaford.

Image source, Harry Parkhill/BBC
Image caption,

Mr Wright's partner and two baby daughters are staying with a friend due to the flooding

Mr Wright, who lives with his partner Tanya Gibbins and their children, said the family had still been recovering from last year's flooding and were now "back to square one".

"We now need to find somewhere else to live," he added. "As adults, we can cope, but I can't raise two three-month-old daughters in here safely."

He called for more to be done to dredge out dykes in the vicinity of his home.

Image source, Harry Parkhill/BBC
Image caption,

It is the second time in 12 months the house has been flooded due to heavy rain

Rick Huddleston, who also lives in Pointon, had to pump water out of his house.

He said he was "frustrated and angry" to see the community affected again.

"It's unnecessary to have found ourselves in this position," he added.

A spokesperson for Lincolnshire County Council said the authority carried out regular work on the drains for which it was responsible, while also reminding landowners of their duties.

"We investigate every instance of internal flooding in Lincolnshire to look at the causes and make recommendations for how flooding could be prevented in the future," the spokesperson added.

"If these recommendations fall under our responsibility, we will look to carry them out, but they may also be for other agencies or local landowners."

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