School head thanks community for flooding support

The head teacher of a school left badly damaged by the heavy rainfall has thanked the local community for its "fantastic support".

The playground at Hockliffe Lower School in Bedfordshire was left flooded and play equipment in a storage shed were destroyed after days of severe wet weather.

Aoife Greaves said locals had donated footballs and skipping ropes and a farmer worked to prevent cattle moving on to the site after a border fence came down.

"We could've had cows on the playground," she said, adding: "I am very sad that we have been flooded - but I am overwhelmed of the support from the community."

Ms Greaves said: "They are quite resilient, our children, they have bounced back and are learning to play with each other without too many toys."

She explained that knee-high water from a nearby brook had flooded the school playground on Sunday after a week of persistent rainfall.

Repair work has already begun on the school roof, which was also affected, but further damage had yet to be assessed.

"On the playground the water was as high as some of the benches our children use at lunch time," she said.

"Our bridge we use for our children to come in the morning was flooded over."

There are currently no government issued flood warnings or alerts for the Hockliffe area, but the school has installed sandbags as staff anticipate further rainfall.

"We're as prepared as we can be," Ms Greaves added.

"Our caretaker will make sure all the sandbags are down to protect the building as best we can.

"Everybody has been absolutely fantastic in offering their support."

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