Flood victims still rebuilding

Shropshire Star reporter Andy Richardson recalls the havoc caused across the region by last summer's floods and how people have coped since.

Initially, people moaned. "Damn the British weather", was a popular refrain last summer as rains fell during the early weeks in June. But on June 19, the situation became more serious. Freak thunderstorms began to wreak havoc across Shropshire.

See also: The devastating floods - one year on

The first casualties were Hampton Loade and the Severn Valley Railway. The road at Hampton Loade was washed away as heavy rains soaked the ground and undermined footings.

Severn Valley Railway was forced to close after cascading water washed away nine sections of line and damaged almost 30 more.

There was widespread shock. John Leach, spokesman for the Severn Valley Railway, says: "It was a freak storm, that's all. But the ground was already very wet from persistent rain, so it couldn't cope with the storm water. The devastation was incredible. Years and years of hard work were washed away overnight."

Embankments at Highley, Hampton Loade, Oldbury Viaduct and Victoria Bridge were swept away. In places, complete sections of the trackbed were washed away, leaving rails suspended in mid-air.

The problems were not confined to Bridgnorth or Hampton Loade. On June 19 and 20, parts of Shifnal flooded. Other nearby villages were also hard hit.

Relief crews started repairs. But, although nobody realised it at the time, the problems were only just starting. A terrible storm on the evening of June 25 brought unprecedented misery. The epicentre was over the south of the county. Previously unimaginable volumes of water washed into local rivers like the Teme, Corve and Onny. They could not cope.

At about 9pm on June 25 the River Corve, in Ludlow, burst its banks. Water washed into local homes. The emergency services called John Bryan, emergency planning officer at South Shropshire District Council.

Mr Bryan says: "The call came through in mid-evening. We had contingency plans and we put them into operation. Some sandbags had been taken out in preparation for flooding. But they were powerless to prevent what happened next. Nobody envisaged the extent of the floods. The River Corve rose 5ft within 25 minutes."

Water washed into homes, reaching 5ft at some properties. People were plucked to safety by fire crews, who used boats to gain access to properties. Some residents were taken from first floor windows, their possessions left to float downstream. In all, more than 70 people were rescued and 1,000 properties were swamped by water.

Elsewhere, residents were taken to safety from Telford and from villages near Bridgnorth. In Alveley, the garden and 250-year-old waterfall were washed away at Ray and Diann Scriven's paper mill home. They are still living with the devastation.

North Shropshire firefighters carried out a rescue at Longslow, near Market Drayton, and saved homes from flooding at Hinstock. Firefighters helped save two men whose BMW broke down in 3ft of flood water. The men could not open the vehicle's doors after it became stuck in the water and about nine firefighters pushed it to safety with the men still inside. Tenbury Wells was virtually sealed off and parts of the A49 became impassable.

In Much Wenlock, drains erupted and water poured into homes. Town councillor Simon Ross got into his coracle to rescue an elderly lady stranded in her home. In Worfield, eight residents were rescued from homes in Mill Close.

Ludlow, however, bore the brunt. Sheep that had huddled in the highest points of fields were drowned. The waters continued to rise and left a trail of mayhem. They scoured out the foundations of Burway Bridge, precipitating its collapse at 2am on June 26. Two policemen were standing guard when it happened. The previous evening's floods had effectively drilled out the river bed to a depth of 20ft, critically undermining the bridge. The collapse severed a gas main and the surrounding area was evacuated.

John Bryan adds: "The police had stayed near to the bridge for security and surveillance. They were standing near the bridge when it went. They heard a few cracks, then a few electric cables sparked and the bridge went. A gas main was built into the bridge and that was severed. The emergency services had to get people out. There was a real risk of explosion."

Mr Bryan says: "When the bridge went, we needed to do more. We'd already opened the leisure centre but people couldn't get to it. We knew someone who worked at Tesco so, in the nicest possible way, we commandeered its cafe." Other Ludlow areas, like Temeside, were also flooded and homes surrounded by muddy water.

The relief effort started at daybreak. In south Shropshire, binmen were taken off their rounds and instructed to fill sandbags. The district's normal supply of 400 was increased to 4,000.

The aftershocks continued. On June 27, Sol and Dereen Pearce's Ludlow home was washed away.

Their grandson stood by, helpless, yards from 57a Corve Street as it tumbled into the water during the middle of the morning. Its foundations had been scoured away by the river. The moment was captured on video camera by one passerby.

For some weeks, the partly fallen property became a grim tourist attraction, people gawping from the roadside at the Pearce's pink-coloured bedding and decimated home. The property was eventually dismantled, brick by brick. The plot was then levelled and sold at auction to a local resident, for use as a garden. Sol and Dereen Pearce moved to a new house, near Fishmore Hall, and made a new start. There were other consequences. Ludlow Festival experienced five-figure losses as visitors stayed away.

Jenny Vaughan, festival chairman, said: "People saw the flood pictures on TV and assumed Ludlow was closed. One of the performers even called because they believed the town had been sealed off, almost like a castle within a moat."

Agricultural shows across the county were called off, the victim of sodden fields. On July 1, a woman was pulled from the swollen River Severn at Jackfield, near Ironbridge. In towns like Ludlow, Tenbury Wells and Much Wenlock, a new relief effort began. Vehicle after vehicle hauled away people's ruined furniture. Civic amenity sites were filled with old fridges, cookers, sofas and personal possessions.

As July wore on, relief crews made progress. But further rain brought renewed flooding. This time, the town worst affected was Tenbury Wells. The town had already been flooded in June.

But in July, on two separate occasions, water washed through the town. Some businesses have failed to reopen, some residents have not returned home. In Ludlow on July 24 the UK National Ballooning Championships was cancelled for the first time in its 32-year history.

The devastation in south Shropshire caused ministerial concern. Minister for Transport Tom Harris was called to Ludlow, and Government minister Liam Byrne met people like Sol and Dereen Pearce.

Campaigners worked to put things right. The South Shropshire Furniture Scheme gave aid to uninsured families who had lost everything. Kind-hearted residents donated white goods and clothes. Councillor Martin Taylor-Smith, Ludlow's floods supremo, secured tens of thousands of pounds in Government grants and similar sums from well-wishers.

Councillor Taylor-Smith said: "Looking back, it's difficult to appreciate what people went through. The human cost was almost overwhelming. But we were fortunate so many people rallied to help."

The floods have profoundly changed the county of Shropshire. Local planning committees are less inclined to grant permission for new developments on flood plains, parish councils have severe weather early warning systems and councils have thousands more sandbags for localised flooding. New plans are being made to help towns and villages deal with flash flooding, water courses are cleared more regularly and engineers are devising flood-proof infrastructure.

One year on, the floods of 2007 are anything but a distant memory. People like the Pearces, the traders of Tenbury Wells, the Scriven family, Rosemary Wood, volunteers at Severn Valley Railway and thousands more live with the consequences every day.