Force of water 'demolished' Devon school library

The smell of damp is still strong as you enter the school in the Devon village of Kenton.

Much of the village was overwhelmed by flood water on Sunday after torrential rain caused a brook to breach.

One of the worst-hit places was Kenton Primary School, which sits next to the brook.

Dehumidifiers whirr as they try to clear the air of damp.

But nothing can remove the smell of soaked furniture, books and the children's play things.

Damaged items are piled in one corner of the playground.

Musical instruments, text books, a map of the world, all victims of the flood.

The 60 schoolchildren are all being taught at nearby Kenn Primary School.

Head teacher Lorraine Curry inspected the school on Sunday - wading through the water to the building in the centre of the village.

"I walked through waist-high water at the front door," she said.

"The current was really strong that came through the village, it was quite unbelievable.

"And I think in my head, I thought it won't be as bad inside the building.

"And of course, as soon as you open the door and look at it, it's just heartbreaking."

Mrs Curry said inside was "thick with silt".

She said: "The force of the water had moved a lot of things within the building.

"So it wasn't just that it was really muddy, really smelly, filthy dirty.

"The library was completely demolished with the force of the water.

"All the children's work, the displays, all of the things to make it a brilliant start to the year, was just all gone.

"It was just a bit of a shock to be honest, there were tears, lots of tears."

The children will be at Kenn for an unknown amount of time as the drying out process continues.

"The priority was to get the children into school, with their teachers, with the people that care about them as quickly as possible in a safe environment," Mrs Curry said.

"And I think we've done the best we can this week."

The brook, which was a raging torrent, is back to its mild-mannered state.

According to the owners of the Rodean restaurant in the village it was a "freak" weather incident.

BBC Senior Weather Presenter, David Braine, said about a month's worth of rain fell in about six hours in that part of Devon - half of which fell in one hour.

Matt and Lizzie Tilt were serving customers when the flooding hit at about midday.

"It had been coming down through the night heavily," said Mrs Tilt.

"When we were getting ready for service it was getting heavier and heavier."

Then water started coming in through the door.

"Then, all of a sudden, you heard a kerfuffle, customers got up quickly, chairs went over, and we ushered them all into the back room," she said.

And there they stayed for at least the next hour, with flood water all around.

"They were so sweet," she said.

"They were hugging me saying 'we will be back'."

They said both their cars were wrecked by the water.

The restaurant carpets are stacked on wooden tables on the village green.

The village has flooded before, the last time in October 2021 when the school was closed again.

"They are going to have to do something," said Mr Tilt.

"When the school flooded they put in these big storm drains to help but obviously with the amount of water that came down they couldn't cope."

Harvey Booth who lives nearby is counting the cost as he was uninsured.

He saw water coming in through his letterbox.

"I've been flooded three times before but only to a few inches," he said.

"But this time the water was waist-deep."

He said: "I was wading through the house past flows of fridge freezers and sofas and even wheelie bins that weren't even mine.

"The water just rose exponentially until it was waist-deep, and I couldn't do anything.

"All my rugs, all my white goods, washing machine, fridge freezer, cooker, practically everything I own apart from the bedding and clothes upstairs are destroyed.

"So it's been an absolute disaster and I've been in pieces and it's hard to think straight when things are this bad."

Help has been coming in from villagers for everyone affected.

"I've had offers already with a couple of sofas and a washing machine and a microwave," he said.

"Local people have been so kind but it's going to take so long to sort of get any semblance of ordinary living again."

Villager Johnny Emmel is among those helping Mr Booth, carrying damaged wooden floorboards to a skip in the village car park.

"There is a really good community spirit in this village," he said.

"The locals are doing what they can do for everybody else."

Donations of furniture have been coming in to the village church for those affected.

Although the church did not escape unscathed with a chunk of ceiling falling to the floor.

It has been opening to provide tea and sandwiches.

Volunteer Sandra Laslett said: "It's not just about coming for sandwiches and drink, it's a social space. They can come and I think they're all appreciative of it and they can sit and share their stories with other people who are affected."

"I think at the moment people need time to reassess what's going on," she said.

"They're trying to clear out their houses and they will need practical help, but the village will give it to them in spades.

"We will help them out and it'll all be fine because this is Kenton and that's what Kenton does."

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