Essex: Floods "Destroy" Couple's Home

27 January 2014, 00:00

An Essex couple say their house has been destroyed by flooding, despite being told they were not at risk.

Properties on Hawk Lane in Battlesbridge were submerged under almost a foot of water last Friday after heavy rain.

Two months earlier, residents had contacted Essex County Council concerned that nearby ditches, gullies and culverts were not draining properly and there might be a blockage.

They were told by the council there was no problem and they were not at risk.

Hannah Betts moved into her home with her boyfriend six weeks ago and has told Heart she is angry.

"It was caused by complete incompetence. It would have taken an hour to clear and they've just left it." she added.

"It's destroyed our lives, destroyed our neighbours lives and ruined our home.

"It (the home) was beautiful and cosy, now it's cold with no carpet or curtains. Wood panelling is ruined, it's just destroyed."

Ms Betts says around 32,000 gallons of water had to be pumped out of the home.

Once she realised her home had been flooded, she contacted the council, but says the response she had was not good enough.

"At first they didn't want to know on Friday, on Saturday morning we were still having problems getting them out.

"They finally came, they didn't really want to help us, they were trying to unblock the gullies.

"The Parish Council were really helpful at pushing things along but we've had limited contact with them (the county council).

"I don't know why we pay our council tax. They knew there was a problem and they did nothing. They haven't helped us, when we were sitting in our dining room under a foot of water they still didn't want to help.

"We've had to chase them constantly, ring several numbers, emails and had no help at all."

A Highways Engineer said: "Essex County Council was made aware of the flooding at this property and attended the site last Saturday.

"The on-call engineer helped to pump water from the property which is believed to have been caused by a blockage in a poorly-maintained private ditch.

"An Essex County Council flooding engineer will revisit the site to further investigate the cause."