Residents hit by flooding call for quarry to shut after blast

Residents who were forced to evacuate their homes because of flooding following a planned blast at a quarry have called for it to shut.

Emergency services were called and roads remain shut in Gwaelod-y-Garth on the outskirts of Cardiff, with about 40 people "directly affected" according to the city's council leader Chris Weaver.

One resident facing a major clean-up said the blast was so noticeable "the whole house shook like a bomb had gone off", while another said it had been like three times the usual "mini earthquake".

Mike Pearce, chief executive officer of the Breedon Group who own Taff's Well quarry, said it would support the authorities and carry out their own investigation.

A spokesperson for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it would work with South Wales Police to investigate.

Cardiff council confirmed the flooding had affected 15 properties, with 13 homes evacuated, and added it was supporting residents.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) urged people to avoid the area while recovery work continues and safety assessments are carried out.

A spokesperson said there had been "visible discolouration in the river", and that water samples had been taken to help assess any environmental impacts from the incident.

Residents said they heard a loud blast from the direction of Taff's Well, Rhondda Cynon Taff, at about 12:30 BST on Thursday and then "huge amounts of water" started rushing down the hillside.

Paul Kipling, who lives on Heol Berry, said residents wanted to come together "to try and stop the blasting".

"It's not fair to the neighbours," he said.

Mandy Symonds, whose home has been in her family since her grandparents owned it, believes the quarry should be shut down.

"I would like somebody from Breedons to come in and see the damage to my house and my garden, which is professionally landscaped and cost me a lot of money.

"Explain to me why that was allowed to happen."

Symonds showed a BBC reporter around her home on Thursday, and described the scene as "absolutely devastating".

"I've got a little garden by there with furniture in. I can see the water's got in there but the water's just... gushing and gushing in the side door of the porch".

Thick brown sludge was left behind by the water, to which Symonds said: "That's what I'm living with", as she pulled her index finger through it.

"And we don't know what's in the water."

Gareth Morgan and Debi Bode, who just had their house newly rendered, said cracks had appeared in their house every week.

"Normally, you feel it just bang, like a shake. It feels like there's a mini earthquake. But yesterday, it felt like it were three of them," said Morgan.

Bode said they were bailing water out of their home "constantly" for hours.

"We managed to keep it down below the electrics, which meant that we could turn them back on later and stay [in the house]," she said.

The pair, who live next door to Symonds, invited her to stay the night because she had no electricity following the flood.

"We had no chance of sleeping. I was terrified because the electrics were back on. I thought knowing my luck, after the flood we'll wake up to a fire or something", she added.

Road closures and traffic management measures remain in place while the emergency response continues.

Main Road in Gwaelod-y-Garth and Heol Goch between Gwaelod-y-Garth and Pentyrch are closed while clean-up operations and investigations continue.

Cardiff council said highways and cleaning teams had been working on-site to clear the roads and remove debris where it had been safe to do so.

However, significant damage has been caused to the highway, they said, with mud, silt, debris and other obstructions continuing to block access and creating safety concerns about the road and the surrounding embankments.

The local authority confirmed that accommodation had been arranged for one family overnight with officers providing support for another family on Friday morning.

Because of the possibility of river pollution, the council has advised the public not to enter the rivers and not to allow their dogs to swim in the water until investigations are complete.

Council leader Chris Weaver said safety and wellbeing of affected residents remained the priority.

"Council teams will continue to support affected residents and carry out the necessary clean-up, investigation and repair work as quickly and safely as possible," he said.

Siân Gwenllian, Wales' minister for local government, housing and planning, said her thoughts were with those affected by the "concerning incident".

"We continue to monitor the situation and support our partners as part of a multi-agency response, which is now transitioning to recovery," she said.

"Relevant authorities will now be investigating the incident to understand exactly what happened so it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this stage."

Kiera Marshall, Member of Senedd for Caerdydd Penarth, said she could not believe the "level of destruction caused" to homes.

She said she would be in the area, along with her team, to provide practical support and advice.

Additional reporting by Eben Leonard