Storm Franklin: Riddlesden landslip has left me in limbo - house owner

The residents of six homes were told not to return following the landslip

A man forced to leave his house when flooding caused a landslip has said he feels he is living in limbo as he waits to find out if he can ever return home.

Simon Sugden lives in one of six houses on Westlea Avenue, Riddlesden, near Keighley, which were evacuated after damage caused during Storm Franklin.

The landslip saw parts of the houses' back gardens collapse into the rain-swollen River Aire on 20 February.

Mr Sugden said: "I am really stuck in limbo, I don't know anything."

Bradford Council engineers who examined the affected properties said they believed the houses to be unsafe and advised residents not to return.

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Mr Sugden, 54, and his five-year-old daughter were rescued from their home by firefighters during the emergency.

"I was in bed and woke up to the sound of water running down the road, it went under the foundations and started to mix with mud, got heavy and I have lost some of my garden", he said.

"My dad's ashes were in the garden, so that's upsetting.

"I feel... I should get some compensation with all the stress. I keep waking up and jumping out of bed thinking it is happening again."

The freelance photographer said the house had been owned by his grandparents, then his father before he inherited the property.

He is currently living in a hotel, paid for by insurance, and his daughter is being cared for by her mother.

"My little girl was not bothered by it, she got picked up in the arm of a firefighter and she just smiled, it was a bit of an adventure.

"In an ideal situation, 100% I'd like to go back to my house, but if not I want to get the market value of the building," he said.

Mr Sugden said he was just glad he, his daughter and cat were all safe, but he was waiting to see what would happen next.

The gardens at the rear of some of the houses fell into the River Aire

An Association of British Insurance (ABI) spokesperson, who could not comment on Mr Sugden's individual case, said: "Being flooded is very a distressing, disruptive and destructive experience for homeowners."

The aftermath was a multi-stage process and "recovering from a flood does take time", it said.

Extreme weather events were likely to become increasingly common due to climate change and it had recently launched a directory of specialist flood insurance providers to help people find cover, it added.