'How a flood engulfed our dream home'

Residents whose homes were flooded after a main was damaged - causing a gigantic plume of water to fly through the air for hours - have said they are waiting for an apology.

It is believed around 10 homes were evacuated on 7 March after Severn Trent said a pipe had been damaged by a third party on a construction site in Beeston, Nottinghamshire.

Residents affected have told the BBC how they would like answers about what happened.

'We were paddling ankle deep'

Sue and Brian moved into their dream home in 2021

Sue and Brian Jones moved into their dream home - a £450,000 bungalow - in November 2021 after deciding to downsize.

Sue, 71, said: "We chose this because nothing needed doing.

"We'd left a home that was quite old and we'd done a lot of work on it, loved it, but we wanted to downsize and we wanted to stay local.

"It was perfect."

The couple were in Birmingham on the afternoon of 7 March when they received a call from their daughter, informing them their property was flooding and they needed to get home as quickly as possible.

Spray from the ruptured pipe covered several homes and part of Nottingham's tram network

Brian, 75, said: "I waded through all the water.

"We couldn't believe it.

"We were paddling ankle deep. It just engulfed the whole of the bungalow."

The couple now have a skip on their driveway full of wet towels which they used for the clean-up.

Their hi-spec laminate flooring has been ripped up and the damaged skirting boards have been removed.

They now live with the noise of two dehumidifiers, which are on constantly to help dry the house out.

Some of Brian's beloved record collection fell in the water

Although they have been offered hotel accommodation, they decided to stay in their home.

They were able to save most of their cherished possessions but some things were inevitably damaged.

"Brian has a big collection of albums going to back to the late 60s and 70s and they were in his 'man cave'," said Sue.

"There was a rush to get those out because they were in boxes but unfortunately one of the boxes broke and went into the water.

"The covers aren't in a good way. We've tried to dry them as best as we can."

The couple have a skip on their driveway they used for the clean-up

The couple, who have been married for 50 years, said they were frustrated with the lack of communication from the authorities who are investigating the cause of the flood.

"Something has gone wrong big time somewhere, and we want answers," said Brian.

"There's been nothing. Not even a letter to say we're so sorry this has happened to you," added Sue

"There should be some sort of response. It scares me it could happen again."

'It would be nice to get an apology'

Joan said she and her family were doing their best to get on with things in the aftermath of the flood

Joan Etchells, 67, who is the legal guardian of her two teenage grandchildren, have all had to move temporarily from the home she has rented in Beeston since 2015 while the flood damage is assessed and repaired.

The family have moved between four different hotels in four weeks but, despite the situation, Joan remains optimistic.

"There's no point sitting crying over something that you can't do anything about," she said.

"You might just as well broaden your shoulders and just get on with it day to day as best as you can, which is hopefully what we're doing."

Joan, who works at a local primary school, is hoping to be able to secure somewhere more long-term to live.

"By the time we get the children back in school we should be ready to move into somewhere which will give us some sort of stability," she said.

"[But] it would be nice to get an apology."

Severn Trent has said the main is now fully repaired and the Health and Safety Executive has said it is continuing to make inquiries into the cause of the damage.

However the local authority, Broxtowe Borough Council, has said it will not be carrying out an investigation.

The developers who were working on the site have been contacted by the BBC for a comment.