People left counting the cost of treacherous storm after flooding
Residents across the Midlands have been left counting the cost after the severe storms and flooding wrecked homes.
Lighting and flooding caused havoc across the Black Country and Staffordshire – with a month’s rain falling in just one hour - last month
WATCH: Residents speak out
West Midlands Fire Service confirmed they had been called out to more than 1,000 incidents throughout the bad weather on May 27.
Residents in Farmbridge Way, Walsall, were left with water and raw sewage flowing through their homes after a power failure caused a Severn Trent pumping system to fail during the bad weather.
Michelle Butler said: “I have not got a living room at the moment, I had to take up the skirting boards and all my furniture has been destroyed.
“My daughter is due to get married in the summer and the bridesmaid dresses were in a downstairs room, we’re just waiting to see if they’re damaged.”
David Smith, who lives with his wife Deborah and son Joseph, added: “My house is flooded with sewage and there is a foot of water downstairs.
“We luckily got the water out of the house because my brother had a water pump to help us but there is still a lot of damage to the carpets and it stinks.
A Severn Trent spokesman said: “Unfortunately there was a power failure which meant the pumps weren’t working as they should.
"We’re working with Western Power Distribution to understand what caused this.”
Sharon Payne said her 96-year-old grandmother Mary who lives in a bungalow off Edison Walk, Beechdale, in Walsall, had been flooded and left with thousands of pounds worth of damage in her home – including the loss of a sentimental cabinet.
Ms Payne said: “There are eight bungalows in her road with elderly people living in them – and each one of them has been flooded. The water was up over their knees inside and outside.
“My nan has been so upset since. Its ruined the carpet, floor tiles and furniture. We had to buy her a new bed and a glass cabinet she had all her married life has been damaged.
"We are probably looking at thousands of pounds worth of damage.”
William Knight said he faced £5,000 worth of damage at his home in Sherwood Walk, in Rushall.
He said: “It has been an absolute nightmare. No matter what we did to try and stop the water from getting inside the house, it did.
"The whole downstairs was flooded – all the floor is damaged. All manner of stuff has been damaged in the house, including some of the furniture."
Nearby resident Ian Onions, in Ruffard Way, said there had been around 10 inches of water inside their house.
Mr Onions said: “It is heartbreaking. I live with my parents, my mother is 76 and my father is 80 so it has been hard on them.
“We have lived here for 40 years and we have never seen something like this.”
A kind pub owner in Aldridge is opening his doors to offer a free meal and drink to those affected by the storm, while two residents in Albrighton are supplying old carpet stock to people who need it in the village
