Chard flooding damage leaves elderly couple 'trapped'

Contractors say the damage in Scrapton Lane, in Combe St Nicholas, is like that caused by an earthquake

An elderly couple hit by a flash-flood say they are stuck in their home after severe damage to the roads.

Several feet of water surged through villages near Chard in Somerset on Monday evening, tearing up tarmac and leaving piles of rubble.

Ralph and Eileen Hutchings say they are worried about missing hospital appointments and buying essentials.

Somerset County Council said its highways team has been "working tirelessly on the ground".

Ralph and Eileen Hutchings run a farm just outside Chard

Mr Hutchings, who has lived in the area for 80 years, says he has "never seen anything like it before".

"We really are worried about getting out," the 86-year-old said.

"We have hospital appointments and doctors to see. What can we do to get ourselves out, when they take so long to put things right?"

His wife Eileen, 76, added: "If you wanted an ambulance or a fire engine, there's no way they could get here."

Mike Gardiner said it could be 10-14 days before a new road will be useable

Somerset County Council said thousands of tonnes of debris has already been cleared.

It added that by Wednesday afternoon access was restored to Whitestaunton on a temporary surface and debris from White Ash Lane was cleared with the help of local people.

Councillor John Woodman, cabinet member for highways, said: "This extreme weather has caused extraordinary damage to local roads and our teams have been doing brilliant work to clear up in preparation to carry out repairs.

"This may take some time but please be assured we are responding as quickly as we can."

Teams have been clearing debris in Whitestaunton

Mike Gardiner, from Gardiner Construction, has been contracted by the council to rebuild Scrapton Lane, in Combe St Nicholas, and estimates it could be 10-14 days until a new road will be useable.

"It's like a war zone...like an earthquake has been through here," he said.

"It's a logistical nightmare because it's a country road. We have to find somewhere to store the tarmac, we can't get the lorries down the lane to load them.

"We've got to separate as much of the tarmac from the top of the road as possible, level the road and straighten it up."

Mr Gardiner said he had never seen a road as badly damaged by water, adding: "It's unbelievable really."