Storm Christoph: Chester man swallowed sewage in flood escape

Mr Spencer spent the night in hospital before being discharged the following day

A grandfather has been treated in hospital after swallowing sewage while trying to escape his flooded home.

Chris Spencer and his wife Marlene, both 70, were forced to leave their Chester home after water began seeping in during Storm Christoph on Wednesday.

Their granddaughter Alex Roberts said he fell while leaving, hurt his back and swallowing some of the dirty water.

She said he spent a night in hospital and the incident had left the couple "absolutely shook".

Ms Roberts said the flood waters quickly rose after she arrived to help her grandparents

Ms Roberts, 20, said she had received a call from her grandmother, who was "crying her eyes out", at about 22:00 GMT on Wednesday.

She said after rushing round to their home, she "ran in and we then figured out it was all sewage water, so you can imagine the smell".

"Within five minutes, it was at least 3ft deep," she said.

She said she tried to get the couple out of the house quickly, but as Mr Spencer "was trying to get out, he fell over into the water and hurt his back, then he swallowed sewage water".

"With that, he had hypothermia as well, because he was so cold... and while we were trying to take him out of the water, I swallowed some sewage water as well, so I had to get antibiotics from the hospital too."

Chris and Marlene Spencer had been "absolutely shook" by the flooding, Ms Roberts said

Mr Spencer was treated at the Countess of Chester hospital overnight and was discharged the following day.

Ms Roberts said her grandparents, who have moved into her house, were "absolutely shook" and "not really speaking much", adding: "My nan is very upset, she keeps crying [and] it's really hard to see them like that."

She said "pretty much everything you can think of has been destroyed" and the couple feared they would not receive any insurance money to help with repairs, as they had not eight years ago during a previous flood due to their home's proximity to a brook.

However, she said she had been "overwhelmed" by the response to a fundraising page she had set up online, which had raised about £3,700.

"It's just like, wow, people are really wanting to help and I never thought people would do that for us," she said.