Flood-hit cottage now 'worthless'

Tim Hoddinott's cottage in Shepton Mallet was flooded in May

A man from Somerset has said recent flooding has left his house worthless and he wants to hand his keys back to the mortgage company.

Tim Hoddinott said his cottage in Shepton Mallet was valued at nearly �300,000 but was now worth nothing after floods hit in 2007 and in May.

He, and his neighbour, came up with an idea to protect their houses from the River Sheppy by building a stone wall.

A council conservation officer said no because it would block a public path.

'Desperately frustrated'

Mr Hoddinott's cottage was flooded last year and again in May, just as he was about to sell up.

He said: "We are desperately frustrated because all we are trying to do is to help ourselves.

"Then you are blocked at every pathway you turn."

A spokesman for Mendip District Council said: "While our conservation officer had recommended against building the wall, it had never formally been turned down since no official planning application had ever been submitted."

Mr Hoddinott said that it is not only the river causing problems for his property but a nearby drain as well.

Somerset Highways issued a statement saying that they are surveying the drain but that they cannot carry out any repairs until that survey work has been done.

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