Flash floods: Family's home ruined weeks before 'dream' move

The Gough family's home in Poole was submerged in ankle-deep sewage water

A family has been left "heartbroken" by flooding that ruined their home weeks before they were due to move.

Darren Gough's family, who live in Poole, were among dozens to see their homes submerged by sewage water after flash floods in Dorset on Monday.

Mr Gough said he and his neighbours believed the flooding was caused by inadequate drainage maintenance.

BCP Council is responsible for drainage in the area, and said it was "very sorry" to hear homes had been flooded.

In a statement the authority said the Fleetsbridge area of Poole had flooded in the past and advised residents to contact their insurers.

A spokesperson also confirmed the council was now gathering data from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and it would contact all affected residents.

Torrential downpours have caused problems across the south of England, with Bishop's Waltham in Hampshire and parts of London enduring a month of rain fall in one day.

Toilets in the Gough family home started filling with water at about 08:00 BST and a few hours later the ground floor was ankle deep in sewage. 

Darren Gough said his family had been looking forward to making their "dream" move

Mr Gough said he had accepted an offer on his family's house and he, his wife Harriet and their three young children were set to move to their new "dream" home in August.

The house, which is in the Fleetsbridge area of Poole, was insured but the family's move is now on hold.

"It's heartbreaking - we had shown pictures to the kids of where we were moving to," Mr Gough added.

"I think if you live near a river you kind of think that flooding might happen one day but in the middle of Poole I foolishly didn't think it would ever be a problem."

He said he had seen engineers preparing to work on the drains in the past 24 hours but added it was "too little, too late".

The family had recently accepted an offer on the house and had expected to move in August

Others in the same road have seen appliances such as fridges "bobbing around the kitchen", Mr Gough said.

Wessex Water, which is responsible for the sewerage network, said the flooding happened after rain caused surface water run-off.

"This resulted in highway flooding, which the council have been dealing with," a spokesman said.

"Due to the sheer volume of water, there were areas where our sewerage network was overwhelmed as well.

"Flooding on this scale is extremely distressing for those affected. Throughout yesterday and today we have been visiting any properties where there have been any sewerage issues."

Other parts of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole were also hit by flash floods, with roads across the conurbation submerged and transport services affected.

The Environment Agency now has no flood warnings for the area and the weather is forecast to be largely dry and sunny for the remainder of the week.