£120,000 for victims of floods

An emergency relief fund in Ludlow that was set up to help victims of the 2007 summer floods has generated about £120,000, it was revealed today.

The fund received cash from the Government, local residents, the Red Cross and other organisations. It will be formally closed on July 11.

South Shropshire district councillor Martin Taylor-Smith said the fund had been a great success.

He said: “We’re aiming to close the council’s relief fund on July 11 this year.

“We’ll end up having raised and distributed around £120,000 to local families hit by floods and on top of the cash there has been an avalanche of practical help, mainly in the form of donated goods from local people.”

Councillor Taylor-Smith said locals had gone to great lengths to help the hundreds of people whose homes and businesses were deluged with muddy water.

Councillor Taylor-Smith said: “Looking through the files, almost all the people who had to leave their homes have returned now.

“However, there are still a few families who have yet to move back into their homes. At least one resident decided to moved to higher ground, for fear of future flooding.”

Money donated to the emergency relief fund including £22,000 in the form of a £150-per-household grant from the Red Cross, £83,000 from the Government and money raised locally.