Floods

:: This article was written in July 2007

The River Dearne burst its banks in Darfield near Barnsley in June 2007, leading to over 30 residents being evacuated by boat by local fire crews.

Bungalows at Darfield submerged

Just days later their homes were flooded again after heavy rains fell across South Yorkshire and the River Dearne burst its banks once again. But this time the flood levels rose further than before.

Some residents lost many of their possessions and were left with nothing but a shell for a home. Normal life seemed in the distant past.

Sharon was one of the residents affected. She'd already cleared up after the first floods in mid-June 2007, but the second bout of rain flooded the village once again:

Sharon at her home in Darfield

"They'd fetched the dryers to start drying it out and then we got another flood alert. We rang them to get the dryers out and when we came back it had gone further up. This time it went way above the mantle-piece… now it's not even a home anymore, it's awful."

On Church View in Darfield the sound of hammers and drills echoed everywhere. It's not a building site but a demolition zone. One resident described it as living in a "little Beirut."

After the first floods many of the residents were evacuated and left to find alternative accommodation with family or friends, some having to travel distances making it difficult to return and clear up much of the initial damage.

Repairs being carried out on Church View

Residents were warned of further flooding, some didn't clear the initial mess believing it would be in vain. One resident, John Bannister said: "If we clean up it's only going to come back, and we've still got a lot of clearing to do because we're away from home.

"We've lost everything, carpets, the fridge, the washer, the work units, the water came over the units, over the cooker… everything's contaminated. Everything downstairs has to be thrown out.

"The plaster's got to be stripped, some of the floor's got to be removed and we have also had problems with looters coming around taking stuff."