Gosport families hit by devastating flood say they are stuck in 'never-ending, groundhog day nightmare'

Neighbours living in Cambridge Road and Grange Crescent are still dealing with the aftermath of the flooding following ‘extreme rain’ over Sunday evening and Monday morning.

The torrential downpour overwhelmed drains in the street, causing water levels to rise to 2ft in some places.

About eight homes were reportedly damaged during the chaos, with water flooding the ground floor of some homes, while rain water pummelled through roofs, leaking into bedrooms.

Southern Water has been carrying out a clean-up operation in the street, with the firm insisting it has ‘gone above and beyond’ its usual practice to deal with the mess.

However, residents left counting the cost of the flooding say they have been left in the lurch, with little information about when their homes will be fixed – or who will be responsible for paying for the damage.

Skye Hall, of Cambridge, has been left with a gaping foot-wide hole in her floor which she says Southern Water dug out in a bid to help clear water from under her property.

The 30-year-old mum said: ‘This is a groundhog day nightmare. It’s just never-ending. There’s no communication as to when the work will be finished or even when work on our home might start.

‘I have no idea when the floor will be ripped up – whether it will be today or tomorrow. I’m meant to be going back to work tomorrow and I still have no idea now.

‘It just been absolute carnage. The communication side of things has been terrible. We do all feel like we’ve been left in the lurch.’

Skye added there has been ‘semi-official communication’ from Southern workers at the scene about whether the water company would take liability for the damage.’

‘However ,we have had no formal communication on liability and where we need to go about claiming for damages – we don’t know what to do about our insurance,’ she said.

A spokesman for Southern Water told The News: ‘Our clean-up operation in Gosport is continuing as we help customers hit by the trauma of flooding following extreme rain on Sunday night and Monday.

‘Specialist cleaning services with high power dehumidifiers are being offered to any customer in need of it – above and beyond our usual practice.

‘During the flooding our teams cleared a blocked surface water drain and pumping stations were manned to ensure pumps were running at their maximum rate. We also deployed a super sucker vehicle which can both remove water and ensure drain and sewer lines are flowing freely.

‘We’re continuing to keep our customers and stakeholders informed.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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