Sewage, earbuds and face wipes in garden after storm

A woman whose garden has been flooded with sewage water says that it has to be due to "more than just the raised water levels".

Susannah Gill, from Wimborne Minster in Dorset, woke up to the flooding on Tuesday morning, when the region was hit by strong winds and heavy rain from Storm Chandra.

Susannah said it was "amazing" to find what people put in their sewers, such as earbuds, as various items are now scattered across her garden in the aftermath.

Town councillor Ann Roberts, a flood warden for the area, said tomorrow "the river levels will probably rise again".

The first thing that came to Susannah's mind when she saw the flooding was "What on earth happened?".

"It was actually dark and we just waded through down to see the chickens, and then when it was light.

"The first day, it was just clear water, and then it was the next day that it started getting more than clear water."

She said their chickens were alright, "but the dog and the cat we've had to keep in the house".

"The sheds are flooded down in the garden, and we're just waiting for the water to stop, which Wessex Water are coming today to stop it, and then we'll see what damage there is."

Susannah said it was "amazing to me what people put in their sewers, because not just the stuff that you expect".

"Things like earbuds that you think 'Do really people put those down the loo?'

"Those wipes that are supposed to be washable and flushable, but they're really really not because they're still all over my garden. It's pretty revolting."

She said the way the sewage was coming through, "it has to be more than just the raised water levels".

"Because everybody else's gardens have gone down there, so it must be more than the water levels.

"But you can't stress about these things. It will be dealt with, I'm sure."

More than 80 flood warnings remain in place across Dorset and Hampshire and more heavy rain overnight and some parts of the county such as Blandford Forum have seen "unprecedented" flooding.

Roberts said: "It's no worse than it's ever been out here but the fact that there are more houses out here now ... people panic."

"These fields have always flooded, they are a flood plain, so you can't expect anything else."

She said it would "get worse tomorrow again".

"[The rain] comes down from Stourhead, all the way down through Blandford, down to here, so tomorrow the river levels will probably rise again."

She added the area has three rivers running through, the main ones being the River Allen and the Stour.

"We always said the children go to Allenbourn School would have to go to school in Wellington boots, which is almost proved right now."

But she said "there isn't an awful lot you can do".

"Especially because this was all allotment, so they soaked up a lot of the rain and the moisture this side.

"But now it's all getting taken down gullies, so you can't expect anything else.

"We have got a lot of permeable drives so that's great."

Roberts added that the river "won't come up that high".

"But rivers change their courses because when my children were small they used to come down here and there used to be a little beach.

"That has disappeared completely so it's not that long ago."

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