'Frustration' as homes flood for third time in burst

Residents whose properties have been flooded for the third time in three years due to a burst water main say they are "frustrated" and "exasperated".

Prof Terry Moore, who lives with his wife in Fritchley, near Belper, Derbyshire, said they were woken early on Saturday by water pouring down the street due to the burst pipe off Chadwick Nick Lane.

He said for four hours a "torrent" of water was coming into their home, covering the ground floor, leaving power sockets underwater and furniture damaged.

Severn Trent apologised to residents, saying 15 homes had been affected, including six flooded inside and nine outside.

Prof Moore said: "Outside of the front door, we had 50cm of water."

The door held some back, but the ground floor was still left covered in about 5cm to 10cm of water, he said.

He added the water was also "seeping" through the walls of the 200-year-old cottage.

He said on Saturday afternoon Severn Trent contractors arrived to help clean up.

"We now have dryers to try and get the damp out of it," he added.

"All the carpets were ripped out straight away by the contractors, so we are living now in this devastated shell."

He said his home had flooded for the same reason in January 2022 and May 2022, and he was "frustrated".

Prof Moore said: "It's the unease as well because we don't know when it is going to happen again.

"Each occasion, we have been assured this is it – it'll be fixed now; it's not going to happen again, but you don't know."

Tony Harper, who also lives in Fritchley, said when it first happened in January 2022, he was told by Severn Trent it was too expensive to replace the old Victorian pipe - costing millions - but was reassured it would not happen again.

Harper, who is the Amber Valley councillor for Crich and South Wingfield, added: "The residents are just exasperated.

"We have now had three floods, and still the pipe has not been replaced."

He said their house insurance prices had "rocketed" because they were now in a "flood-hit area".

He added he had contacted their MP - Linsey Farnsworth, Labour MP for Amber Valley - to arrange a meeting, and would be raising it at an Amber Valley Borough Council meeting this week.

Ashley Holland, regional lead for water networks for Severn Trent, said the burst was being investigated.

"When we have the true root cause back, we will bring that together with any past events to make sure improvements can be made to this network to make sure it doesn't happen moving forward," he said.

He said the problem was a priority to resolve.

"We have around £980m that we are spending in Derbyshire in the next five years," he said.

"Areas like this, that have had repeat issues, will be at the forefront of the funding cycle."

He added workers were trying to get the flooded properties back to normal as quickly as possible.

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