Shrewsbury home floods for third time in 11 months

A family home has flooded for the third time in 11 months, weeks after work finished from the last incident.

Siobhan Connor's Shrewsbury home was among properties flooded when the River Severn rose at the end of last week.

She said she had carried out huge renovations, invested in defences and taken other precautions but still the water got in.

"Pretty much all the work I've done is wasted," she said.

Roads were blocked, homes flooded and businesses affected when the Severn rose to a level of 4.9m (16ft) at Welsh Bridge last week.

Care home staff used to a boat to get to work in Longden Coleham, while the Darwin Townhouse guest house and the West Mid Showground, among other places, also flooded.

Mrs Connor had finished decorating and had her restored furniture returned two months ago after being flooded in February.

She is still awaiting insurance payments from last year's flooding due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Each flooding event has meant new plumbing, new white goods, kitchen replacements, plastering and redecoration. She is unable to put a figure on the costs, she said.

In the latest flood, the speed of the flowing water on the river had been "really scary".

It started coming into the property Thursday evening and by Friday morning was "waist level" downstairs.

"It's really upsetting. People can't access us because we are surrounded by water. It's really tough," she said.

Cleaning up after flooding was "really disruptive", she said, and involved a long process of drying the property and thoroughly cleaning items touched by water which contained sewerage.

"We have raised our roof, turned our house upside down, invested in flood defences and taken precautions but still haven't been able to keep the water out," she said.

The Environment Agency has been contacted for a response.

A be prepared flood alert remains in place for the River Severn at Shrewsbury.

Mrs Connor said had been contacted by the Environment Agency advising her on measures she could take to protect her property, and is preparing for the possibility of further flooding over the coming days.

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