A nurse has criticised the emergency response after his town was hit by flooding as Storm Antoni swept the UK.
Paul Jones-King said this is the second time in three years that Loftus in North Yorkshire has been flooded – and this time, his home was affected.
The 47-year-old added he was “angry” and “really frustrated” – and claimed the town’s drainage system is unable to cope with heavy rainfall.
Mr Jones-King’s flooded home
“I just want to cry to be honest with you,” Mr Jones-King said.
“I’m a nurse, I finished a night shift, was sat having a cup of coffee before I was due to go to bed, and literally within 10 minutes your house is flooding.”
He estimated that about 20 homes in Loftus are affected – and claimed Redcar and Cleveland Council’s response had been poor as there was “no support”.
“Delivering sandbags seven hours after an event is just a complete waste of time for everybody,” he said.
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Sandbags provided by emergency response teams
While the Met Office says Storm Antoni is finally “clearing away from the UK”, Mr Jones-King said his village is “stuck in limbo” as it took a few months to recover from flooding that occurred three years ago.
“Everyone is just arguing among themselves, no one has done anything, and we’ve flooded again,” he added.
A spokesman for the Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said: “The council responded immediately when called out to the need for help and a crew was deployed to the scene by early morning. Further crews were mobilised throughout the morning as the scale of the flooding became apparent.”
He said crews were at the scene all day, adding: “This work included making roads safe to use, clearing gulleys to allow the water to run away and providing help to residents to protect their homes.”
Efforts to repair damage caused by Storm Antoni is set to continue for several days in Loftus.
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Bad weather sweeps across country
This was the first named storm of the season – bringing gusts of up to 78mph and 43mm of rainfall – half of what’s typically seen in the whole of August.
Fallen trees blocked 100 miles of railway between Exeter and Penzance.
A danger to life alert was issued that covered southwestern areas of England and Wales, where severe road and rail disruption was reported. Those warnings have now been lifted.
The Met Office says Sunday will start with a mixture of sunshine and showers.
But warmer weather could be felt in the coming week, with temperatures climbing to the mid-20s by Thursday.
Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said better conditions may also be on the way in the second half of August.