The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
After a busy few weeks battling fires in dry conditions, the area’s fire crews were called into action again in the early hours of this morning (Wednesday, August 17) as the area was hit with deluge of rain
Following one of the driest summers on record the recent spell of hot weather ended with heavy rain that caused flash floods in parts of Spading and Pinchbeck.
Several homes were reported to have flooded as drains struggled to cope with the sudden influx of water that arrived within a few hours.
Homes were reported flooded in Wentworth Close, Rowan Avenue and St John’s Road.
Lorraine Buckingham, who lives in Wentworth Close, said she was awoken at 1am with water lapping at her door.
“Thank the lord for the fire crews.
“The firemen put sandbags round the front door and said it was just millimetres from coming in. They’ve been at it since 1am.”
Lincolnshire County Council said sandbags were sent out to:
- St. Andrews Road, Spalding (17 to houses – 33 to fire station)
- Station Street, Spalding (6)
- Rowan Avenue, Spalding (10)
- Brownlow Crescent, Pinchbeck (unknown)
- Willesby Road, Spalding (12)
- Park Avenue, Spalding (8)
- Fairfield Close, Spalding (8)
- Independence Drive, Pinchbeck (21)
- Fulney Lane North, Spalding (unknown)
- Chaucers Way, Spalding (approx. 40)
- Holyrood Walk, Spalding (2)
- There’s also a gully tanker at Sherwood Drive.
Large parts of Bakkavor’s West Marsh Road site were underwater this morning.
There were also issues at Springfields while the Castle Sports Complex in Spalding was closed as The Voice went to press due to flooding in the area.
Last week the Environment Agency placed Lincolnshire and large parts of England into drought status after the driest eight months since 1976.
Anglian Water said its region had received a fifth of the expected rain in July.
A spokesman for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: “Our crews have responded to flash flooding around the county since around 6pm last night- initially to Market Rasen, followed by Louth at around 8pm.
“We started taking calls to Spalding around midnight and continue to be busy as we respond there and also to Pinchbeck and Boston.”
LCC Coun Richard Davies, executive member for highways said: “We have seen our highways resilience kick in with emergency crews working extremely hard to be most effective where best needed.
“Because we have seen such a lot of rain in a very short period of time, and especially after a prolonged stretch of dry hot weather, the nature of what we were faced with was very unpredictable.
“I’m happy to say that we reacted quickly as soon as we received reports of where roads were affected. I would like to also thank several builder’s merchants around the Market Rasen area who helped with sandbagging and really showed a terrific community spirit which is very much appreciated.
“I would also like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding whilst our work and the network’s drainage system was taking place. To have the roads back to normal in such a short period of time for the people of our county is testimony to the hard work of our crews and everyone involved in a rapid response.”
If you have been affected by flash flooding overnight, here are some useful numbers you might need:
Flooding – 01522 782082
Dangerous issues – 101
Fallen tree on the road/footpath – 01522 782070
Power cut/damaged power lines – 105
In an emergency, always call 999.
