'I'm not home a year after the Storm Henk floods'

Jenny Ansell and her guinea pig Pumpkin have spent a year unable to go home

People from Leicestershire have said they are still suffering a year after their homes and businesses were flooded by Storm Henk.

The storm hit the UK on 2 January last year and caused widespread flooding across the Midlands and the West Country.

Residents have told the BBC they are still unable to return to their homes, while a dentist said she had no choice but to relocate her clinic.

Both the Environment Agency and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) have said they are committed to defending communities from floods.

Jenny Ansell's ground-floor flat in Loughborough's Staveley Court is still being repaired after it was flooded, and is temporarily living in a different flat nearby while she waits for the work to be finished.

She said the night of the storm was "mayhem".

"Most of us were in bed, and you could hear noises outside," she added.

"I got up and water was up a couple of inches - by the time the firemen came for me it was up to my knees.

"I tried to save my guinea pig and ended up at the pub, the Boat Inn. I then spent five months in a B&B."

Flooding hit Loughborough a year ago after Storm Henk swept through

Simel Kara said his mother, Shobhna Kara, 74, had been sofa surfing for the last 12 months after one metre of water entered her home in Rushey Mead during the storm.

"It was a typical evening, and the entire family was visiting when we received a flood warning," he said.

"The water was rising more and more, it was an apocalyptic scenario. We had to grab everybody and move them upstairs."

Mrs Kara, whose house backs on to Melton Brook, then lost her husband two weeks after the storm.

Homes, roads and businesses were flooded after Storm Henk hit Leicestershire in January 2024

"It's been very upsetting and traumatic and we've not been able to grieve our father's loss," Mr Kara added.

"You relieve the experience over and over again. It's like a nightmare.

"Help has been very minimal. There is a grant available, that I have applied for. But the individual has to pay for the surveyor, and that costs around £800.

"Any further works are borne from the property owner, prior to the grant being issued. I feel like we have been forgotten."

Dr Nora Albaldawi was forced to move into a new premises on Welford Road

Dentist Dr Nora Albaldawi, who runs Skintique Beautiful Smiles, said she was treating a patient when the flood water came into the reception area of her premises in Victoria Park Road.

She said her team feared electrocution as they tip-toed out of the building and the flood water caused more than £50,000 worth of damage.

Dr Albaldawi has since decided to make a fresh start at another premises on Welford Road in Leicester.

She said: "After the flood, I could not guarantee that this was not going to happen again. I looked for other places that I could move into," said the dentist, who has been practising since 2001.

"I was treating a patient when my staff told me that I need to leave. I was tip-toeing out of the building and I was worried that I was going to be electrocuted.

"We were on the ground floor, so everything was destroyed. I put all my heart and soul into the original business.

"For me, to give up that, it was really heartbreaking I had to do it."

The storm left a trail of devastation in its wake

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said protecting the public was their top priority.

"The Environment Agency is currently delivering the government's long-term funding programme of flood defences, investing over £1 billion this year to scale up national resilience through building new and improving existing flood defences," said a statement.

Defra said its thoughts were with "everyone affected by Storm Henk".

"Protecting communities from flooding is an absolute priority for this government," a spokesperson said.

"It's why we have committed £2.4 billion over the next two years to maintain, repair and build flood defences to protect communities across the country."