Flash flooding hits homes for a second time

People who have been waiting to return to their homes following flooding nine months ago have been hit again.

The overnight downpour has thwarted plans, as some had been expecting to return to their properties in Bridgend within a few months.

An elderly woman was helped to safety after waist-deep water filled the ground-floor properties, said South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

Liam Reilly, 30, said it could be many more months before he and partner Ceri Thomas, 29, could move back, after a nearby culvert flooded again with water entering their flat for a second time since last September.

"It does feel like our whole lives are now put on hold," he said.

"We are stuck with a house that we can't live in, that we have to pay for.

"And now we are going to be living with family for the foreseeable future."

He said 10 ground-floor flats at Ty Caer Castell needed an overhaul after last year's floods, with three having new kitchens recently fitted.

Ty Caer Castell ground-floor flats also flooded in 2012. A spokesperson for the fire service at the time said the flooding had been caused by water from a blocked culvert.

Mr Reilly returned to the property in the early hours of Saturday to try to survey the damage and saw firefighters helping an older person to safety.

"We weren't able to access the property - the water was too high for us to safely walk through," he said.

Although insured, Mr Reilly and Ms Thomas lost everything in the first flood, so the property was empty when it was hit by the most recent deluge.

"You've just got to keep going. I've got a business to run," said Mr Reilly, who runs a mobile coffee van which was hit during the first flood, along with neighbours' vehicles.

Kim Fjaelberg has lived in a flat at Ty Caer Castell since 2003 and, after last year's floods damaged her house, has stayed in temporary rented accommodation while it was repaired.

She said she had paid about £5,000 in accommodation costs since September and was due to move back in within the next few weeks.

Fighting back tears, she said: "This is the second time I've gone through this, it's devastating.

"I was hoping to come back home in a couple of weeks, it was nearly ready.

"I ordered furniture for my bedroom, now I have to cancel it."

The 66-year-old said she was "devastated" by the damage and had "nowhere to go".

"I was looking forward to coming back next week or the week after and now… I can't go back.

"Where do I go from here?"

Leyton Stevens, 60, is a landlord who rents out one of the flats.

"Some of the residents were all ready to move in next week, it is just devastating to be honest," he said.

"This is the third time, first time in 2012, happened 10 months ago and again last night.

"Absolutely devastating for the residents, financial ruin for some."

He said every time it rained he thought "is it going to flood?".

Meanwhile, a circus hit by flooding has insisted the show will go on - once everything has dried out.

Performers for Uncle Sam's Great American Circus were pitched at Bridgend showground when they were awoken by flash flooding.

"Within 10 minutes the water was waist high," said ringmaster Paul Martinez.

"It was madness, all the caravans were flooded out as well as the big tent.

"There were chairs floating around."

He said performances planned for this weekend had been cancelled but they would "postpone the next venue and stay here".

"We don't want to disappoint people," he added.

The Met Office has revised an early weather warning for thunderstorms in Wales and parts of England on Saturday, reducing the affected area to parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

However, heavy rain, thunder and lighting was reported across Wales overnight.