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Stoney Stanton cottages remain uninhabitable months after flooding

Barney Blockley-Campton Houses in Station Road, Stoney StantonBarney Blockley-Campton
All 22 cottages on Station Road in Stoney Stanton were evacuated after flooding in October

People living in 22 cottages that flooded almost five months ago say they are still unable to return home.

The ground floor of Beth Moore's house in Stoney Stanton, Leicestershire, was "completely destroyed" by the water.

She is still living in a caravan in the back garden while they wait for the repairs to be completed.

The community has set up a flood action group to help with establishing the cause of the floods and stop them from happening again.

Mrs Moore said she had been out with her daughter during heavy rainfall on 1 October and "just couldn't believe" what she returned home to.

"It was just like a torrent," she said.

"There was water running over the hedges and there was water all in the road."

Beth Moore Flooding inside Beth Moore's cottageBeth Moore
The ground floor of Mrs Moore's cottage was destroyed by the flood water

Nearly all the cottages on Station Road are still inhabitable due to damp.

Mrs Moore, who had lived there for 31 years, had been hoping to return in March but said there had been a delay in repairs.

"We're getting cabin fever in the caravan. It's not very big and you can't get a good TV signal," she said.

Inside Beth Moore's home
Mrs Moore had been hoping to return home in March but damp has delayed the start of repair work

Since October, she said there have been three more "close calls", with flood water getting close to the cottages.

She said residents were on "standby" and Storm Dennis was "very, very scary".

"If it had continued to rain like it did, we definitely would have flooded again," she said.

Residents have blamed a new housing development opposite the cottages, which was built on floodplains.

Beth Moore and Ann Jackson
Mrs Moore has set up an action with other flood-affected residents

Mrs Moore is one of eight people in the Stoney Stanton Flood Action Group, set up following a visit from the National Flood Forum.

"What we do is monitor drains, manholes and report the findings to Blaby District Council," she said.

Drone footage showed the extent of the Leicestershire flooding in October

The authority has been working with Leicestershire County Council, which said it was carrying out an investigation into the flooding.

A county council spokesman said: "We have been successful with a bid for government funding to carry out further work to identify why Station Road floods during periods of prolonged heavy rain and for us to try to identify potential solutions to this problem."

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