05 January 2024 , 22:46
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A pensioner has been dubbed the 'King Canute' of the River Severn after he built a huge wall to protect his £600,000 house from flooding.
Repeated floods caused by Storms Gerrit and Henk have forced many out of their homes in recent days - but one homeowner's prevention efforts have drawn instant comparisons to the legend of the medieval English king.
Nick Lupton, 60, and his wife Anne, 50, moved into their stunningly converted 17th-century house on the River Severn in Pixham, Worcestershire back in 2016.
The couple have dealt with their home and its acre of land being flooded 11 times since then - and the endless clear-up bills exasperated them to the point where they decided to fortify their whole property with a 7-foot high flood barrier.
It took them four months to complete their barrier - finishing just weeks before Storm Henk hit Britain. Drone images reveal their black-and-white residence and courtyard surrounded by floodwater after the River Severn recently overflowed its banks. Nick told Gloucestershire Live: We bought the house with our eyes wide open. We've been flooded 11 times since 2016." He adds, "We live in a beautiful part of the world, right next to the River Severn, with one drawback we get flooded. We finally decided to build ourselves a wall around the house."
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The couple had witnessed their home and its acre of land being flooded 11 times since 2016 (Tom Wren SWNS)"We built it last summer and it took about four months to complete. We finished it in the middle of September and we tested it in the middle of October. This flood is quite a high one, it's close to the record in 2020, so it's a really good test of it and so far it's stood up to that."
Before building the flood wall, Nick and Anne added barriers in front of the doors and pumps under the floors to keep the flood water out. The couple remortgaged to pay for the flood wall and said they hoped it would add value to their home as a result.
Residents living in the area have congratulated the couple for taking action to protect their home - and said it brought to mind old medieval legends. One said: “Nick’s a fabulous fella and we all applaud him for what he’s done – we call him Worcester’s answer to King Canute. Flooding is such a problem around here. It’s not just the fields that flood, it’s roads and homes. The powers that be must act soon to stop this misery happening again and again or people will simply move away.”
The site itself has a rich history, and part of the property was once a river ferryboat's inn. When it was a pub, the sound of floating beer barrels in the cellar was said to be a sign of the rising water.
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