Skewen: 'Carnage' as flood-hit residents flooded again

Homes which were badly damaged after a mine shaft "blew out" earlier this year have been flooded again.

About 80 homes were evacuated in Skewen, near Neath, in January because of flooding related to mine works.

After heavy downpours on Monday, some homes flooded again just as work on a new mine water management scheme got under way to try and prevent a repeat.

Neath Port Talbot council said it was investigating but believed intense rain had overwhelmed the drains.

Teresa Dalling, who lives on Dynevor Road, described the scene as "carnage".

Residents say the drains have been unable to cope with heavy rain since the blow out and it was "lucky" there was only a short downpour.

Ms Dalling said: "The drains can't hold the water, it's just been devastation again. Something's got to be done."

She added the area had never experienced problems with flooding or surface water before, but since the "blow out", it was a regular occurrence.

"Every time we get a downpour now the water is dreadful, there's nowhere for it to go," she explained.

A video given to BBC Wales by one resident, who did not want to be named, shows the flooding in his house on Monday afternoon.

He is living upstairs while the ground floor of his home is repaired following January's flood. This new flood is likely to have set the work back by months, he claimed.

Ms Dalling said: "It was dreadful to see him yesterday. He had a new set of furniture two or three weeks ago and it's absolutely ruined. He lives on his own and it's devastating."

She called for something to be done by the Coal Authority and Neath Port Talbot council.

"They need to pull their fingers out and they need to get the job done," said Ms Dalling.

In February, an offer of £500 from the Coal Authority to reinstate ruined gardens was described as "derisory".

It was later increased to £2,000 and many gardens have been repaired. However, several have been flooded again - causing further damage.

Angela Zenati "lost everything" when she was evacuated from her home on Jubilee Crescent in January.

She said the drains had not been able to cope with heavy rain since they were flooded with ochre-coloured mine water in January.

"This is a direct result of the floods because they've not been cleaned," she claimed.

"There's a lot of orange sludge and goodness knows what down there.

"The only thing I can say is it was lucky the rain stopped when it did because, if that amount of rain carried on any longer, then there would have been more houses flooded again."

Mrs Zenati, who is living in a one-bedroom flat while her home is repaired, said she did not feel people realised the emotional trauma residents had experienced.

"Your family life is gone," she said. "For me, my family life to me is having the grandkids around and cooking Sunday lunch and the kids playing in the garden or sleeping over.

"That's gone. So I don't feel like, since I've been evacuated, I've been a grandmother. It's just gone."

Ms Zenati added: "When this rain comes, like it did today, everyone is on alert. Everyone's nervous, anxious, panicking."

A spokesman for the Coal Authority said it understood the most recent flooding was a "surface water and drainage issue", and that the council was "the lead agency on those issues".

Lyndsey Gordon-Webb, from solicitors Watkin and Gunn, which is acting on behalf of residents in Skewen, said she sent a letter before action to the Coal Authority but had "not received a substantive response".

Responding to Ms Gordon-Webb's claim, the Coal Authority spokesman said: "I can confirm that we received a letter in May and that it was acknowledged at that time."

A spokesman for Neath Port Talbot council said it was "continuing to make further investigations into the cause" of the flooding.

He added council workers would be "on site with partner agencies to provide the necessary support to those residents who have been affected", adding that early indications suggested intense rainfall had caused the drains' capacity to be "exceeded".