Isle of Wight couple in hotel for Christmas after house flood

Michael and Christine Cooper will be spending Christmas in a Holiday Inn after the third flood in their home this year

A couple are staying in a hotel for Christmas after their house was flooded for the third time this year.

Michael and Christine Cooper said they had a "devastating" year following issues with their home in Brading on the Isle of Wight.

The pair, who live near the River Yar, said part of the problem is a nearby road is not properly drained.

An Environment Agency spokesman said in recent weeks the island has experienced its "heaviest rainfall in decades".

Mr and Mrs Cooper's 1970s bungalow was first flooded in January and the couple fear their house will now become uninsurable and unsellable.

They are staying at a nearby Holiday Inn over the festive period and said they do not expect to be back in their home before May 2024.

The couple said they had experienced some flooding in the garden previously, but this year has been the worst

Mr Cooper said: "The house has been stripped out, rebuilt and flooded again and has now got to be done all over again, leaving us living in a hotel and our belongings have all gone. It's very devastating."

He explained six of their neighbours had also experienced flooding, but in previous years the issue has only impacted their gardens.

Mr Cooper added: "It's got worse in the last year, the infrastructure isn't correct. The road drainage isn't good enough.

"At the moment the Environment Agency people are going to supply flood defences for the property, other than that - nothing. We're really angry, the solutions are quite simple, dredge the river, but they won't do it."

Mr and Mrs Cooper's home first flooded in January this year

Mrs Cooper said she was trying to "keep it together" for her family, as it will be the second year they have not been home for Christmas after a garage fire ruined their plans last year.

She said: "We normally have all the family over from the mainland during a three-week period every year, but last year we couldn't because of the garage fire and we were in a Premier Inn and the same again this year.

"We don't know what to do. It's upsetting and it's stressful."

Mr Cooper said their home had to be stripped out and rebuilt following the first flood

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said parts of the island have had more than four times the monthly average of rainfall during recent storms due to climate change.

They said a flood warning had been in place for the Eastern Yar since 27 October and urged members of the public to register for flood alerts and warnings.

They added the tidal gate in Brading "is designed to maintain a set level in the marshes and prevent tidal flooding, and we will always review how our flood defences and flood gates operate".

Isle of Wight Council has been approached for comment.

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