Fighting the floods

Tuesday, 10 July 2012

Wedding guests make it to church on time in 4x4

by Lucie Simic

THE owners of a bed and breakfast near Honiton came to the rescue for a couple of its guests when they became stranded in the flash floods that struck the area on Saturday.

The guests at Odle Farm Bed and Breakfast, Upottery, were visiting from America to attend a wedding in Membury on Saturday but were unable to use the flooded roads and instead had to be driven to Honiton across a common in a 4x4.

B&B owner Karen Marshallsay said:?“We had a few guests who were stranded in the awful weather which caused flash floods on Saturday.

“Some of our guests had come all the way from America for a wedding and then were stranded here. Luckily, we managed to take them over the common in our 4X4 where the landlord of the Sidmouth Arms – who was going to the wedding ­­– then took them to Membury for the wedding.

“Other guests we had staying in a cottage, needed to get to Honiton to catch a train for their flight back to Canada. We managed to get them to Honiton but all the trains had been cancelled. In the end they drove to Dorchester for a train.

“It certainly was a team effort to help everyone who was stranded thanks to the dreadful weather. Although, I wouldn’t want too many stressful weekends like the one we’ve just had!

“I’m sure there are plenty of stories people could tell. The weather this year has been awful, and must have cost a lot of people a lot of money.”

East Devon was hit badly by the flash flooding on Saturday, July 7th.

Despite the severity of the conditions, it was clear that the planned response of the close partnership of the emergency services: the Environment Agency, police, fire service as well as the local authorities, immediately swung into action and by Sunday afternoon, things were beginning to return to normal.

East Devon District Council’s StreetScene staff were out in force all over the district from the start, tackling the problems as they arose.

Leader of the council, Paul Diviani, said: “I am very proud of their dedication and community spirit and the resilience of our communities who were also fully involved in the clear up.

“And a special thanks must go to John Golding and the housing team for ensuring that those who had to evacuate their homes were found shelter in the emergency centres and with family and friends.

“Whilst emergencies are not a pleasant experience, it is reassuring to know help is at hand.

“We shall be having a wash-up meeting today to review the operation and learn from the experience to ensure our response in the future is the best.”

Residents of Honiton were cut off as the roads in and out of the town were shut, with both lanes of the A30 closed.

South West Trains also suspended its rail services between Honiton and Yeovil after there was flooding on the line at Axminster.

Many people tried in vain to tackle the rising water levels but to no avail.

Feniton residents were unable to pass under the A30 at Ironbridge after water rose to an impassable level.

Email: pulmans@tindlenews.co.uk

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