Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire locals describe ‘nightmare’ flash flooding

Locals have reported widespread damage to their homes as Britain continues to face “unbelievable” flash flooding caused by heavy downpours of rain.

Heavy rainfall has seen parts of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire submerged causing widespread travel disruption and damage to properties.

A hairdresser was cleaning up mud from R&R Hair Services in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, on Monday morning after floodwater reached knee height on High Street South on Sunday.

Kirsty Brewer said it was the fourth time the business had flooded in the last six or seven years and that the first time it had caused thousands of pounds worth of damage, but now they had moved all the electricals higher, so they just had to clean up the mud.

The 31-year-old, who rents a chair in the business, said: “It started yesterday afternoon when the whole of Dunstable was flooded. It was up to your knee deep, the road comes down so we’re sitting in a bit of a well.

"We kept all the doors shut to keep as much of it out as possible, and as you can just imagine it was just black, mud everywhere.

“We don’t open on Sundays or Mondays, so it’s not affected business in that way, it’s just a big clean-up. It was full of mud when we got here at 9am.

Mum-of-two, Emma Bilson, from Grendon, Northamptonshire, saw her home partially submerged overnight and described the scene as "total devastation".

She said: "We've got a four-month-old baby and a five-year-old and everything is ruined."

"This is unliveable so we'll have to move out for... I don't know how long it takes to repair... There's just so much damage, it's really heartbreaking."

Ms Bilson said the water didn't recede until the early hours of Monday morning.

"It's left this thick layer of disgusting silt. We're trying to dry it out, we've got dehumidifiers going. We're now waiting on insurers to send a claims assessor out... But it's just worrying if it happens again," she said.

"Everyone's been really nice and that's been really heartwarming, but it's just such a horrible situation," she added.

Ionela Roman, who moved to Grendon at the end of 2022, said flooding has left her feeling "useless and afraid".Floodwater got into her garage and destroyed her washing machine and freezer."You just feel alone," Mrs Roman said."I want to move from this area because I've had enough," she added.

Tim Maher and his partner Carol Findon, also from Grendon, saw their two-storey home partially submerged overnight with more than a foot of water.

Mr Maher said: “We’ve had an awful lot of rain in recent days and some forecasters were warning we could see a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.

“I have an app on my phone which tracks river levels and at around 8.45pm it rocketed up.

“I decided to drive down to the bridge and saw the water breaking the banks and coming down the road towards me.

“I quickly turned around, drove home and put up a flood barrier we’ve got up against the door. It kept out a lot of the water but we’ve had about an inch overnight.

“We’ve had some damage to the carpets, settees and other furniture. The most difficult bit will be drying out the structure.

“We haven’t had much sleep and at least eight houses on our road have been impacted. It would be nice to get a permanent solution to this problem.”

Jon Sayles, another Grendon resident, said his home had been hit with “two feet” of water.

He said: “At about 9pm last night, water came in through the back of the house. I’ve had about two feet of water.

“I’ve got electrical problems, the sockets don’t work, the fridge isn’t working and there’s damage to the carpet and settees.

“I was in bed as I’d decided to have an early night. A neighbour called me to tell me what was happening so I went to have a look and saw the water. It was unbelievable.

“I’m still clearing up and had no sleep last night.”

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