Skewen flood victims face 'months' before returning home

People whose homes were flooded after a "blow out" at a mine shaft are said to be "devastated" as they face months before they can return home.

Steve Morris said his son Gareth and his girlfriend's home in Skewen, Neath Port Talbot, was inundated by "orange" flood water containing sewage.

Eighty people were evacuated on Thursday and residents were urged to stay away due to safety fears.

But some will be allowed back to their properties on Tuesday.

Residents of Goshen Park and Sunnyland Crescent who have yet to contact Neath Port Talbot council are urged to do so in the next 24 hours.

The council said access to these properties would continue to be affected beyond 26 January and the Coal Authority wished to have early discussions with them.

Mr Morris told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that his son called him on Thursday to say his house was about to be flooded.

"I live about half a mile away... and by the time I got to his address I could see the water levels were rising rapidly up the road," he explained.

"Then it was so quick - the water came through his rear patio doors firstly, then the gardens and then the drains couldn't cope on the main road and came through the front door, then the side door.

"His ground floor was four feet under water, and it was this orange coloured water. There was sewage in the house, so his ground floor needs totally gutting."

Mr Morris said Gareth and his girlfriend are staying in a hotel as they wait to be allowed back to assess the damage.

He hopes their insurance firm will pay to rent a home for them, adding: "I can honestly see them being out of their house for between six and 10 months.

"They are obviously devastated - they have only been in there for 12 months so everything was near enough brand new."

Cerys Thomas was at her mother's house with her son, in Goshen Park, when she saw water coming through the front door.

She said: "I said to my mother to get my son and herself out and up toward the street. I phoned the police then, because I could see it was going to be an emergency, and within minutes my parents' conservatory doors just blew through.

"The pressure of the water just blew through the house and the water, within minutes, was up to my waist.

"Trying to get out of the house was very scary because the pressure of the front door was getting pushed back."

She said the street was under water "within seven minutes".

"It was something you would see in a movie," she said.

Meanwhile, the Coal Authority said it has identified the cause of the "blow out".

Chief executive Lisa Pinney told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast: "Firstly, I just want to say our thoughts are with everyone affected by this flooding and we are genuinely sorry people have been affected in this way.

"What we know so far is the blow out was caused by a blockage underground which caused water to break out, basically to find the easiest path, and there's no doubt the excessive rainfall in the days before was also a factor in that."

Ms Pinney said crews had been able to find the site of the collapsed mineshaft which had caused the flooding, and the authority had started to "develop options".

"We really understand people want to get back into their homes, they want to collect things, they want to know what the next steps are," she continued.

"We are working as fast as possible to make that happen and we hope to be able to provide some more information in the next day or so, but you will understand that we have to be sure for public safety."

Ms Pinney said there are almost 300 mine shafts or entries across the Skewen mine works, which covers an area of about 12 sq km (7.6 sq miles).

She added: "We have checked all recorded shafts in the immediate area and we are doing continued checks over the coming days. We have found no problems. They are all safe."