Family forced out by damaged pipe moved 17 times in house search

Joan Etchells said everyday tasks like cooking and washing clothes had been difficult

A family say they have had to live in 10 hotels after a damaged water pipe flooded their Nottinghamshire home.

Houses were evacuated when the pipe was damaged near Gwenbrook Avenue and Lime Grove Avenue in Beeston in March.

Joan Etchells, 68, is the legal guardian of two of her grandchildren, aged 13 and 15, and has had to move 17 times in the past four months.

Now they have found a house, which will take them on a six-month lease but hope to get back in their previous property.

Mrs Etchells, who rented her house, was forced into hotel accommodation while their landlord waited on an insurance claim.

She said: "It has been absolutely horrendous.

"While everybody gets back to everyday life, people like us who have had to live through it, it's absolutely awful.

"And it is extra difficult for the children. It's not been easy for any of us but it has affected the children more.

"When you are living in hotels and sharing a family room, you are all sleeping in the same room, it's not good.

"Living out of suitcases has been a nightmare."

The column of water damaged houses and disrupted tram services

The family have had no say in where or when they move as this is organised by the insurance company.

Mrs Etchells said the situation had been complicated by the fact they had struggled to find a house to rent as they only wanted a six-month contract, given they hope to move back to their original property.

They also needed to stay in the area, due to the children's school and her work.

They had looked at about a dozen houses and applied for eight but each time been told the landlord had opted for another tenant.

But on Tuesday they began to move into their new house.

"We were really lucky to get this place and it has taken a lot of stress and strain off me," she said.

"It's been the things you take for granted, like being able to cook meals and wash clothes, just day-to-day things like that which have been hard."

Severn Trent Water said the damage was caused by a "third party" working on a building site and the pipe was repaired shortly after.

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