Skewen residents flooded by mine blow-out 'in limbo'

At least 80 people had to leave their homes in the village after flooding

People flooded out of their homes after a mine blow-out are in "limbo and need answers".

Eighty people were evacuated from Skewen in Neath Port Talbot on 21 January and residents have been urged to stay away due to safety fears.

Some people will not be able to return home for at least six months, the Coal Authority has said.

Resident Kelly Birch said there was no clear plan about what was happening and insurers had been unable to visit.

Ms Birch said she and her family had been able to move in with her parents but many of her neighbours were staying in hotels.

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"It's been really difficult because our houses are still full of flood water, sludge and slurry," she told BBC Radio Wales.

"We haven't been able to get any insurers in to have a look.

Firefighters in Skewen helped evacuate people from their homes

"The Coal Authority have advised a six-month window but we don't know if that is six months before we can get people to start working on our houses or if that is six months until we're actually able to go back and live there.

"So we're all in a bit of limbo at the moment, we're getting pieces of information but we're never really getting the full picture."

She said if it was not for their local councillor Mike Harvey they would "not know anything at all".

Ms Birch said they had just finished decorating their home after moving there 18 months ago.

Kelly Birch's husband Wayne took this photo of the damage in their home

"We literally just finished doing everything to that house in November," she said.

"Every single thing downstairs is ruined, there's nothing salvageable."

She said she feared their possessions upstairs were becoming damaged because the house was damp after the flooding.

"It is full of mud and we don't know when that's going to be cleaned out," she said.

Many people had been unable to return to get belongings and some neighbours had been unable to get their cars so could not go to work, she said.

A £6.5m support package is available to people affected by flooding - on top of payments of between £500 to £1,000 per household - to help with the "immediate cost of water damage and replacing belongings" from Welsh Government.

The Coal Authority said the "blow out" was caused by a blockage underground which led to the water breaking out to find the easiest path.

The water rushed through the streets of Skewen

Chief executive Lisa Pinney said work to cap the mine shaft would take three months but a new water management system will have to be built deep underground to divert the water, which will take at least six months.

She said the authority was looking at "every option" to get as many people as possible back in their homes as quickly and safely as possible.