Catcliffe flooding victims: 'We've been left to fend for ourselves'
Lynsey France, her partner, and her young son Charlie have been living in a caravan since the village was flooded last year
All this week we're taking a deeper look into what life's like for people living in what's being described as South Yorkshire's forgotten village.
Last October - Catcliffe was devastated by flooding from Storm Babet - with many people there forced to leave their homes.
Four months on - we've been to visit Lynsey France, her partner, & her 5-year-old son Charlie.
They're still living in a caravan on their drive on Orgreave Road - opposite the River Rother - after their uninsured home was hit by the floods.
Lynsey says it's been a nightmare:
"It's very stressful and it gets you really down.
"You just wouldn't ever imagine that you'd have to live in a caravan on your drive.
"I'm just distraught that we've lost so much downstairs, and outside in the sheds.
"We've literally lost our entire livelihood.
"We've not been able to sit on a proper settee or cook properly since this happened.
"Nobody cares, nobody is interested in what's happening to us.
"We've just been left to fend for ourselves.
"Obviously we need plasterboards, new flooring, a brand-new kitchen, and our stairs need re-doing.
"Our son is also suffering, because we can't do the exciting stuff we want to do with him.
"We've had to literally cut back on everything. We still need to make sure we can eat.
"We're paying two lots of electricity in essence, because we're having to keep the house warm to get it dry, as well as keeping the caravan warm.
"My son lost all of his toys as they were downstairs.
"He lost every single toy he owned. It was devastating because these were toys that he loved.
"It's been so difficult to try to build his toys back up, when we're trying to carry on living, and save to re-do the house back up."
Rotherham Council’s Assistant Director for Community Safety and Street Scene, Sam Barstow, said:
“Since the tragic flooding in Catcliffe and surrounding areas, ground maintenance and street scene operatives were deployed for over 1,800 hours to aid the recovery operation. This began with removing damaged household items, daily road sweeping activities, and cleansing and maintenance of council land.
“The Council arranged for community skips remain in place until the end of January, when additional street cleansing operations took place. For residents who had damaged flood items left to dispose of, a dedicated webform was created so a request to remove the items could be raised. An onsite collection point was set up at Catcliffe Memorial Hall where additional supplies were stored, and residents could go if they needed further support and advice.
“Cleansing and ground maintenance operations are scheduled to take place throughout the year, and we will continue to respond to any additional requests we receive.”
The Environment Agency sent us this statement in response:
“We know the devastating impact flooding can have and we understand the concerns of residents.
“Babet brought unprecendented rainfall – a month’s worth in less than 36 hours, with the River Rother at Catcliffe recording the highest ever river levels. The flood defences at Catcliffe were inspected after the event and they had operated as designed. Our focus is on supporting recovery in affected communities and we will continue to monitor flood defences in the area and carry out routine maintenance.
“We are also carefully considering what actions can be taken to further reduce flood risk in Catcliffe, working alongside local MPs and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The public can sign up to flood warnings for free on: www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings .”