Storm Babet victims brand £500 grant 'insulting' - and urge Rishi Sunak to visit

27 October 2023 , 19:14

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Dave and Lynsey in their home (Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)

Flood victims have told of their fury at a miserly £500 recovery grant and urged Rishi Sunak to see their ­damaged homes for himself.

One dad who discovered his insurance had expired said his £125,000 house was now worthless because of Storm Babet. And residents evacuated from 250 homes in Catcliffe, South Yorks, claim they could have saved more of their ­possessions as a flood warden warned of the impending disaster but nothing was done immediately.

Lynsey France, 43, returned from a caravan holiday to find her home destroyed and her four-year-old son’s toys in the water. She said: “This payment is insulting. It wouldn’t even pay for our front door. I want the PM to come and see our homes for himself. Everything’s gone. It’s horrendous. We’ve had no help because we own our own house.”

Damaged household equipment (Getty Images)

Lynsey told how her husband David ­Pickering, 55, confessed he had not renewed the home insurance. She added: “It’s upsetting to see him this way, I’ve never seen him crying but he hasn’t stopped. It’s affected our mental health, it’s just devastating. I’m not really sleeping and get flashbacks of watching the water rise.”

Recycling worker Dave said: “I’ve lost everything. Our house is worth nothing now.” Flood-hit ­households can apply for up to £500 recovery grant while homes and ­businesses are eligible for 100% council tax and ­business rates relief for at least three months, ministers said.

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Small and medium sized firms can get up to £2,500 from the Business Recovery Grant. Property owners can apply for up to £5,000 for long-term projects to protect homes. But Chris Lloyd, whose home was also flooded in the deluges of 2007, branded the £500 payment “pathetic”.

Cars covered in mud at Catcliffe (PA)

He said: “We were under six feet of water. So £500 won’t do anything. Have they seen what we are going through?” Chris revealed a local flood warden told the ­Environment Agency at 8.30pm last Friday floodplains were full. But he claimed no sandbags were sent out and residents were not ordered to ­evacuate until around 3am.

Chris added: “He reported it and was ignored. He said, ‘I would not have been able to save your houses but all those cars and personal belongings you would have had time to get out of the way.’” The Environment Agency said: “Our teams worked round the clock to remove debris and to protect lives and property and we will be carefully considering what actions can be taken to further support communities, including in Catcliffe.”

Lucy Thornton