Staffordshire firm steps in to help families trapped by floods
A vehicle firm from Staffordshire has stepped in to help flood-hit residents, ferrying children to school and taking people to urgent appointments.
The Somerset Levels have been under water for about a month and heavy rain forecast for the next few days means their plight is set to continue.
Army-style all-terrain vehicles from Leavesley International in Alrewas are helping trapped families.
They have already started taking children to school and patients to doctors' appointments, along with carrying supplies, such as fuel and wood to residents that are stranded from local shops.
They are also transporting animal feed to farms that have been hit by flooding.
Group director James Leavesley said the specialist vehicles were capable of operating in extreme conditions.
He added: "I have been working with Staffordshire Civil Contingencies Unit for some years on the re-utilisation of equipment like this, and for exactly this kind of emergency. The drivers have taken part in the necessary training over the last couple of day, prior to the deployment of the vehicles." Nine drivers from emergency teams in Somerset have been trained in how to use them. Somerset County Council leader John Osman said the vehicles
would become 'more involved' when other forms of transport, such as the current boat service, became unfeasible.
Staffordshire Civil Contingencies Unit (CCU) has sent a party to Somerset to ensure that the Leavesley vehicles can be used easily by teams in tackling the floods. Andy Marshall, of the CCU, said the vehicles were being used within an hour of arriving on Sunday. The CCU first began working with Leavesley during floods in Lichfield in the summer of 2007.
