Storm Babet: 'We don't sleep at night when there's heavy rain'

A resident whose home was hit by Storm Babet says people "don't sleep at night" when there is heavy rain.

Peter Wiles, of Woodborough, Nottinghamshire, helped found an action group after the stream behind his house burst its banks for the very first time in October last year.

Waters rose so high that the county council declared a major incident.

"There's a tremendous emotional and psychological impact of it, said Mr Wiles.

Mr Wiles, the chairman of the Woodborough Flood Action Group, said: "People are, if they see rain now, they're watching the forecast constantly.

"People don't sleep at night when they think there's going to be heavy rain."

"Just the very fact that you've had a flood warning makes it that people are looking out and thinking, 'oh my God, is my house going to be full of water tonight?'"

Anna Mimms' home in Woodborough was flooded in the storm and she was hit again with floods in a rented house in January.

She told BBC News about the valuables she lost that were being kept in the garage at her rented home.

"I found a box with birthday cards that my kids had made, my adult boys now, but when they were younger," Ms Mimms said.

"I kept all their cards that they'd made and all of that was destroyed.

"I think we were all quite surprised at how much of a toll it took on us, and we were all quite surprised at how that impacted us personally."

"I took some time off work and I didn't want to do that but there was a point where I just found myself unable to cope."

The Environment Agency said they have spoken to more than 1,000 people effected by Storm Babet in the East Midlands.

Alex MacDonald, Senior Advisor at the Environment Agency said: "It has been a mammoth task to go and check all the flood defences we have got but we have been doing that."

"We have also been running community drop in events where we have spoken to over 1,000 people affected."

"We are also out and about talking to people in public drop in sessions, understanding what happened during the flood events and what we might be able to do in the future to protect those communities."

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