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'All our wedding presents were destroyed in flood'

Tony Fisher/BBC Ellie stands outside her front door which is grey amid traditional brickwork. The row of houses continues behind her, with white bay windows and a sign for the New Inn pub in the distance. Ellie has bright red lipstick and wears a big navy puffer coat. She has straight dark brown hair.Tony Fisher/BBC
Ellie cannot get contents insurance for her home in Buckingham due to flood risk

A woman said she was "emotionally and financially drained" after her wedding presents and young son’s clothes were destroyed by flooding during Storm Bert.

Ellie Bailey, 29, was away for the weekend when her basement property in Buckingham flooded on Monday, for the second time in two months.

The neighbouring pub, the New Inn, also suffered "thousands of pounds" worth of damage when the River Great Ouse burst its banks.

Buckinghamshire Council said it had responded to 60 call-outs following the storm, and that it "stands ready to support however we can alongside the Environment Agency".

Sharn Duggan A montage of three rooms in the flooded basement. In each picture, murky brown water comes up about 3ft from the floor. A bedroom with a white desk and chest of drawers is flooded. A hallway with a white storage cabinet is also flooded, you can see a yellow rubber glove floating on the water. Framed photos are on the wall and on the cabinet. A kitchen is badly flooded with water almost to the top of the washing machine and dishwasher. Sharn Duggan
The basement home of Ellie and her wife was swamped in about 3ft of river water on Monday

Ms Bailey said about 3ft-4ft (0.9-1.2m) of water had filled the rented home she shares with her wife and four-year-old son.

"The kitchen’s all bowed, all of our furniture’s fallen apart. Our wedding presents and pictures were destroyed.

"All you could see was my son’s toys floating past. He said, ‘Look Mummy, there’s my train’.

"He doesn’t seem too bothered about it. You have to laugh, or you’d cry," she said.

The property flooded to "about skirting board height" in September when they were away on honeymoon.

"Last time our family and friends rescued our stuff, but this time it was so quick. There was no time to take anything upstairs."

Tony Fisher/BBC A street scene in Buckingham. There is a church in the background and the New Inn in the foreground. It is at the end of a row of traditional buildings with red bricks and white sash windows.Tony Fisher/BBC
Buckinghamshire Council said it has responded to 60 callouts after Storm Bert caused flooding in Buckingham

Ms Bailey said they had no contents insurance, because companies either turned them down or offered insurance for "crazy amounts of money".

"We absolutely love our home. Everyone says to rent somewhere else, but I don’t want to move. But you have to weigh up the health risks.

"It's supposed to happen twice in a hundred years, but it’s happened twice in a few months."

She said the landlord and council "had been great" and the local community had offered replacement clothing and furniture.

Tony Fisher/BBC Louise Maloney sitting behind the bar in her pub. Wine glasses hang down from the bar above and there are bottles of spirits and beers behind her, as well as two fridges full of cans. Louise looks at the camera with a half smile, she wears a white hooded top and has shoulder length brown hair with a fringe.Tony Fisher/BBC
Pub landlady Louise Maloney said the flood had been "harrowing and devastating"

Louise Maloney, 58, has run the New Inn for six years and also could not get insurance due to previous flooding.

"We were assured by people that it wouldn’t happen again – they said the council had put things in place," she said.

But flooding in 2020 and again in 2024 proved otherwise.

"Everything in the cellar is pretty much damaged – it's basically thousands and thousands of pounds worth of stock gone to waste.

"We came down here and just cried because this is our livelihood."

Lee Maloney A flooded cellar full of bottles of spirits and cardboard boxes. Murkey greeny-brown water is on the floor.Lee Maloney
Louise Maloney says the pub was flooded in 2020 and 2024

Ms Maloney said "the support from the community, either emotional or financial" had been “incredible”.

"We’re trying to keep strong and getting ready to open again."

Thomas Broom, Buckinghamshire Council’s cabinet member for climate change and environment, said the authority had provided sandbags and also launched a new "Be Flood Ready" website.

"I know residents and businesses will be worried and profoundly impacted by this latest flooding.

"I want to assure them that the council will work with them to find solutions and help them build resilience, where we can, in high-risk locations for flooding," he said.

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