Flood-hit residents and workers praised the ‘Dunkirk spirit’ in Britain following Storm Dennis as communities rallied to help those worst affected today.
Among the worst hit areas was Ironbridge in Shropshire where residents are beginning the clear up after the River Severn peaked last night, with the town’s flood defences holding firm against the onslaught
Up to 1,500 properties have been flooded in the past few days with thousands more evacuated – but spirits were high in the former industrial town near Telford today with the river level expected to go down.
Vic Haddock, 60, in his canoe in Ironbridge today, said: ‘I’ve lived here for 17 years and this has been the worst it’s ever been’
Pictured are donations, including heaps of children’s cuddly toys, for flood victims at Treforest community centre in Wales
Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford (centre) and Member of the Welsh Assembly for Pontypridd, Mick Antoniw (right), with resident Caroline Jones inspecting flood damage at her house in Oxford Street, Nantgarw, in south Wales, on Monday
Ironbridge resident Pete Andrews, 50, with his dog Pippin, said today: ‘It was a lot better last night. We weren’t scared at all’
Mike Perks, manager of Cleo’s wine and cocktail bar said: ‘We got told we would have to be here all through the night. Then we were told that the water had dropped.
‘Yesterday we were full of people and the council workers who were here seemed relieved that the water was going down. The community has really pulled together.
‘It would have been awful if it had been a tragedy. The next step is the clear up. We just hope everyone is alright.’
Mr Perks has had as many as 40 people in at the busiest point to take shelter and refuel with complimentary teas and coffees.
He said yesterday: ‘We’ve got people drinking teas and coffees and having bacon sandwiches and everything else – the old Dunkirk spirit.’
Dr Ann Henshaw, 73, lives in a cottage directly next to the River Severn by the eponymous Ironbridge. She said today: ‘We’ve been fine. I’ve had lots and lots of calls and offers of help from friends. It was touch and go last night.
Vic Haddock outside his canoe hire business in Ironbridge today while neighbour Pete Andrews pumps out water
Appliciances have been placed on stools in Vic Haddock’s house in Ironbridge today as the flooding problems today
Flooded homes on the banks of the River Severn in the Shropshire former industrial town of Ironbridge today
Furniture has been moved off the floor in Vic Haddock’s home in Ironbridge today as the area faces flooding chaos
Among the worst hit areas is Ironbridge where residents are beginning the clear up today after the River Severn peaked
‘I had to disable all the downstairs electrics which meant it was a bit cold. It hasn’t been great, it’s been the worst it’s been since 2000.
‘I’m just relieved the water has gone down. My garden is flooded. The water isn’t bad for it at all, in fact it’s probably good for it with all those minerals.’
Residents in Ladywood which is directly next to River Severn and the iconic Ironbridge are beginning the clear up after their homes flooded. Pete Andrews, 50, said: ‘It was a lot better last night. We weren’t scared at all.’
Residents in the area hit out at the council for not installing flood defences on their side of the river.
Vic Haddock, 60, said: ‘I’ve lived here for 17 years and this has been the worst it’s ever been. Nobody can control the weather and if you live by a river then you can expect to get wet.’
He added that despite the flood barriers put in by the council on the nearby Wharfage, residents in Ladywood had been given no such protection.
Robert Price, 53, faces a bill of thousands after his grade-II listed 15th century cottage Ironbridge was flooded today
Robert Price in Ironbridge claimed that the water had peaked higher than the Environment Agency had predicted at 21ft
The flood-hit interior of Rob Price’s home on the banks of the River Severn in Ironbridge today
DVDs and electrical equipment has been stacked as high as possible at Robert Price’s home in Ironbridge today
He said: ‘Over here were not told anything. We don’t have flood barriers over here. I had to spend last night with my family in Wolverhampton. Right now we have no gas, no electricity and no amentities. It’s going to cost thousands to put it right.’
Robert Price, 53, faces a bill of thousands after his grade two 15th century cottage was flooded.
He claimed that the water had peaked higher than the Environment Agency had predicted at 6.52 metres and that the flood would cost him thousands of pounds in damage.
He said: ‘This is the worst it’s ever been without a doubt. I feel like we’ve been let down. The frustrating thing is that this is a grade 2 listed building and we have to go through hoops to get anything done.
‘Since we’ve lived here we knew that something like this would happen. The council put up flood defences on the other side of the river, not here. It’s going to cost us thousands to repair.’
Debbie Kane said: ‘Last night was OK. Monday night was terrible. We were up all night manning the pumps. We’re a nice little community down here, we look after ourselves.
‘We were told it was be five metres high and we were updated by text and checked hourly. We had sandbags and pumps ready.’
Flooded cottages in Monmouth in the aftermath of Storm Dennis yesterday
Some 30 properties were evacuated on the Wharfage in Ironbridge yesterday morning as a danger to life warning was issued.
Elsewhere in the country, Pontypridd in Wales was battered by Storm Dennis over the weekend, but as families were left without homes, strangers were quick to offer their help, and a small community centre was overwhelmed with donations to help those affected.
A small group at Treforest Community Centre, dubbed the ‘unsung heroes’, put together plans to get people aid.
Secretary of the centre, Cheryl Jarman, 58, explained they decided to ask people who were willing to donate unwanted items to help those who had lost everything in the floods.
A post was published on social media and the centre has had thousands of donations including household items, food, toiletries, and stuffed toys for displaced children.
Mrs Jarman said: ‘We have had a back up of bags this week as donations keep coming through the door.
‘I’ve never seen anything like this at all. We’ve had things for babies, prams, clothes, toiletries – anything you can think of.
‘We have been overwhelmed by the reaction here.’
People have even donated beds, TVs, and Sky boxes. Transit vans were delivering toiletries and baby supplies, along with boxes of fresh fruit and daffodils.
On Monday Mrs Jarman opened up at around 9am thinking she’d be there for 10 minutes to speak to an electrician.
She didn’t leave until 10.20pm because people kept arriving bringing donated goods through the door.
A member of the public wades through floodwaters after flooding in Nantgarw, Wales as Storm Dennis hit on Sunday
A man rides a bike through flood water, as pumps and flood barriers help to keep the water from flooding homes in Gloucester Road in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, today
The centre has received so much it’s sending some to other venues like Trallwn Community Centre and Hapi Hub in Rhydyfelin to make sure all communities have enough to go around.
‘We just want to say how thankful we are,’ said Mrs Jarman. ‘Can we just say how grateful we are for the generosity of others.
‘There was a two-year-old here this morning and it broke her little heart – she has nothing.
‘We are trying to help people and they’re saying ‘give it to someone who needs it’, and they have nothing.
‘People are proud and they don’t want to take anything.’
Churches in Pontypridd also opened their doors to offer refuge to those left stranded by the deluge.
Families living along the River Severn were evacuated from their homes as a city braced itself for its highest flood levels since 2014.
A woman and child enter a cottage today in Gloucester Road in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, as pumps and flood barriers help to keep the water from flooding the properties
Aerial view of Upton-upon-Severn this morning where residents are still on high alert as the town sits surrounded by water
Residents in Hempsted and Alney Island, Gloucester, were told they were ‘at risk’ from the rising river levels, with some choosing to pack up and spend the night in a rest centre.
Red flood warnings remain in place along the Severn with new predictions that water levels could top 4.5m in Gloucester, just 42cm shy of the 2007 peak.
In 2014, the last time homes were evacuated, flood defences held and the area on the far side of Westgate Bridge was not flooded.
Councillor Dawn Melvin has spent part of the evening in her ward as residents prepare for high tide at 3am.
She said the people of Alney Island have either ‘hunkered down’ or evacuated their homes.
Cllr Melvin said: ‘People were evacuating, but all I will say is many of those people are the salt of the earth. They are so resilient, it’s frightening.
‘Even ones with small babies have been putting their furniture on anything they could to get it off the ground or moving everything to the first floor.’
Aerial view of Upton-upon-Severn this morning where residents are still on high alert as the town sits surrounded by water
Gloucestershire Police said officers had been out in at risk areas offering advice to residents.
A force spokesperson said: ‘People have been advised that they are at risk of flooding.
‘The neighbourhood team have been around advising and have told them they can go to the rescue centre at the GL1 Leisure Centre.’
Cllr Melvin added that ‘en masse people have been hunkering down’ and the community have been helping each other to move furniture and the like.
She went on to commend the ‘level of community in that area’ while the Environment Agency were pumping water out of the River Severn.
Cllr Melvin, who represents Westgate on Gloucester City Council, said: ‘People have been bringing out cups of tea and checking the Environment Agency have sandwiches.
‘Some of these people, God-willing, they will have lost nothing but they might and they probably all know that they might.’
Red flood warnings were issued for Alney Island, Gloucester, Hempsted, Minsterworth and Stonebench, Sandhurst and Maisemore, and Trigworth and Longford.