Devastated residents who face at least six months away from their flooded homes have thanked the community for their help.
Households along Belton Lane in Grantham have been left devastated by the effects of the River Witham bursting its bank on Monday (January 6).
Some have had to leave their houses into temporary accommodation and have been left wondering what the next steps are to get back into their beloved homes.
A drone view of flooding in Belton Lane, Grantham. Photo: James Clark
Joanna and Terry Hagues have lived in Belton Lane for eight years but are now facing six months living in a hotel, while repairs are carried out.
“I am devastated that this has happened, we have watched everything we have built up be destroyed in an instant,” said a tearful Joanna, 57, who works in retail.
Flooding in Joanna and Terry Hagues’ home.
“We have each other, everything else is material.
“But it’s just the devastation of everything we have worked for. It is not just a house, it is our home.
Flooding in Joanna and Terry Hagues’ home.
“We have lived in a lot of houses, but this was our home.
“I am not a wimp, I am a very strong person, but this has broken me.”
The couple’s daughter Lidia, 25, travelled from her home in Derby to assist her sister Alicia, 22, who still lives at home, with clearing up.
The aftermath damage inside Joanna and Terry’s home.
Lidia said: “My mum called me saying there was water coming across the park and that she had a little bit coming through the door.
“She tried to block it, but within 30 seconds the whole bottom of the house was filled and it kept rising.
“We have had to move things upstairs for now.”
Joanna says amongst the chaos, members of the community were quick to help.
She said: “There were two teenage boys who stopped to try and help clear the drains. They are just teenagers, whoever they are, their parents should be very proud of them.
“There were also people from Wyndham Park who came to hand out hot drinks. It was a kind gesture.
“We are very lucky to have had such supportive friends as well.”
Lidia also said: “If it wasn’t for people helping, the damage would have been a lot worse.”
“The expected support was not there, the unexpected support from the community was,” added Joanna.
The damage in their home means it will need replastering, new floors, a new kitchen and the electricity rewiring, which could take up to six months.
Joanna added: “We need to set up a new home. I know it is material damage but our life is there.
“At the moment we can’t plan ahead, we can only take a step at a time.”
Emma Woolley, who lives with her husband and two-and-a-half year old daughter, lives next door to the Hagues.
Emma Woolley has had to tell her daughter that the house is ‘poorly’ and needs to be ‘fixed’ before they can go back home.
She left for work as normal on Monday morning, but came home later that afternoon and faced with “knee deep water”.
Emma said: “When I got home, I welded through about 22cm of water.
“It went through the entire house, the garden, the living room and even into our car.
The aftermath damage in Emma Woolley’s home.
“It was overwhelming. I have my little girl and in this sort of situation, you always prioritise your child first.
“Her Christmas presents have been destroyed, so she didn’t even get to play with them.
“She also has a new doll house she absolutely loved, but that has been destroyed.
The aftermath damage in Emma Woolley’s home.
“We have told her the house is very poorly and it needs to be fixed before we can go back home.
“All she wants to do though is come home and play with her toys.
“It’s crazy, in one way you leave home, worrying about the traffic to get to work, but then you come to and see that most of your house is under water.”
The family is dealing with their insurance company to see what the next steps are.
For now, they are staying with Emma’s in-laws who live in Grantham.
Emma added: “It is all just overwhelming. We have to think about how we are going to spend the next few weeks?
“There are normal things like going to work or taking our child to nursery, but we don’t have our house.
“All of that is going to be hard.”
Emma has also appreciated the community support, with people who she doesn’t even know reaching out to her.
She added: “For us because we have a little one, we have not been here as much so we haven’t seen as much as the community helping.
“However, we have had lots of people reach out to me on Facebook, some I don’t know and some I do know.
“It is nice to know people want to help.”
Further down the road are Tom and Jessica Newcombe with their four children.
Just like Emma, Tom and Jessica, who have lived in Belton Lane for nearly 12 years, went to work on Monday with no problems.
Tom said: “It was a bit wet, but I dropped the kids off and went to work as normal.
“I have an office at the bottom of our garden, so I saw that the river was getting higher.
“I went for a walk at lunch and noticed its bank had burst a bit.
“We then had a message from the children’s nursery to pick them up.
“I went to do that. Literally, within a 10 to 15 minute walk, the road was flooded and water was coming into the front garden.
“It happened exceptionally quickly.”
Compared to some houses, Tom and Jessica’s home has not suffered as much damage.
He added: “Fortunately, we had a manhole cover at the front of the house so all the water went down that.
“Unfortunately, the drains along the road were full so they didn’t work properly.
“Everything inside the shed is destroyed, the only thing we don’t know about is water damage under the property.”
The couple also praised the community for its efforts.
Jessica said: “It had a real community spirit to it.”
Tom added: “We had a few lads come on their bikes and wanted to help. We all worked together to try and get the water out and put sandbags along the road.”
A GoFundMe has also been set up by Grantham resident Matthew Ash, to help those affected by the floods.
He said that this is a “difficult situation” and thought that “Grantham people need to pull together.”
Lincolnshire County Council has been approached for a further comment on the floods.