‘Danger to life’ flood warning STILL in place as devastated Britons face mammoth clean-up after Storm Bert kills five

A ‘DANGER to life’ flood warning remains in force as Britons face a mammoth clean-up job after Storm Bert killed five people.

Hundreds of homes were left underwater, roads were turned into rivers and winds of more than 80mph were recorded in parts of the UK.

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A severe flood warning, involving danger to life, has been issued for Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park and surrounding parks. following at the River Nene in Northampton.

The flood warning has been reissued “due to deep and fast-moving waters” remaining in the park.

Officials said it “will continue to be extremely dangerous” throughout the night.

People waded into deep waters yesterday to escape the floods, clutching bags of their belongings.

Stan Brown, 67, who has lived at Billing Aquadrome Park for 25 years, said he had “had enough” and felt he had no choice but to move.

He said: “I have somewhere else to go, but I’m one of the few. Other people spent all their savings buying a place to live there, and now they have nowhere to go .”

Communities in England and Wales have now begun a “massive clean-up” following torrential rain and widespread flooding caused by Storm Bert over the past few days.

Homeowners in Didcot, Oxfordshire, were left disgusted by sewage “poured onto the streets” in the aftermath of the storm.

Other residents in affected areas said they did not think the chaos would be resolved by Christmas, with Environment Secretary Steve Reed saying the UK’s flood defenses were in the “worst condition ever recorded”.

Sutherland Beck, in Didcot’s Ladygrove Estate, was severely flooded as owners were unable to get to work.

Residents in the area said foul-smelling waste on the streets was having a “huge impact” on their well-being.

Mr Reed also said further flooding was likely this week, but was expected to have a less severe impact than seen so far.

Cwmtillery, a former mining community in south Wales, apparently suffered a landslide during Sunday’s storm, and many people were asked to leave their homes overnight after mud and rain water came up right under their windows.

Luc Robertson, who lives in Woodland Terrace in the village, said: “We didn’t expect it, we didn’t prepare for it or anything, but we’re obviously just happy no one was hurt.”

“All the debris, that’s what caused the carnage, it’s going to be a massive cleanup,” she added.

Rob Scholes, 75, who returned to check the damage to his house on Monday after being moved, said: “My neighbor rang and said ‘don’t open your front door’, so I don’t didn’t do it and we just watched it come up.

“To be honest, I really don’t think we’re going to have this situation clarified by Christmas,” he added.

Welsh Water has issued a ‘boil water’ notice to customers in 10 areas of South Wales, informing them that tap water may be contaminated due to flooding and must be boiled until further notice .

A major incident was declared in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area on Sunday after between 200 and 300 properties were affected by flooding.

In a statement on Monday, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said it had issued flood warnings ahead of the downpours, but there was “no silver bullet” for managing flood risk, after criticism of warnings from a local council leader.

The Environment Secretary said the Government was allocating more money this winter to upgrade flood defenses more quickly.

He said: “This government has inherited flood defense systems from the previous government which are in the worst state on record.

“Now we have allocated £2.4 billion in the Budget to improve our flood defences, better maintain the ones we already have and build new flood defenses to keep people safe.”

Mr Reed added that the Government “would be prepared to offer whatever additional support we can” to those most affected in Wales.

He then told the Commons: “Further flooding is unfortunately likely over the coming days as water levels rise in slower-flowing rivers such as the Severn and Ouse.

“The Environment Agency predicts that any impacts should be less severe than those observed in recent days.”

A man aged around 80 died after his car entered water at a ford in Colne, Lancashire, on Saturday, while a body was found during the search for Brian Perry, 75, who went missing while walking his dog near the River Afon Conwy, north Wales, the same day.

Fire crews rescued 57 children and one adult from a school bus on Monday after it became stranded in floodwaters on Eckington Bridge in Worcestershire, the Fire and Rescue Service said of Hereford and Worcester.

Louise Preston, 20, co-owner of Pitter Potter pottery store in the town, said it had been “heartwarming” to see “community spirit” in the clean-up efforts.

She said the business had lost a storefront, adding: “We’ve had support officers from the police, the fire brigade were wonderful yesterday, Tesco gave people free cleaning supplies.

“Cafes, which have suffered themselves, are giving out free tea and coffee to everyone.”

Around 350,000 households England lost power during the storm, although most have since been reconnected.

Some areas received more than 130 mm of rain in 24 hours on Sunday.