Flooding forces family out of two houses in a week

A family have been forced to live in temporary accommodation after two properties they stayed in flooded twice in one week.

Dean Tulley and Holly Laverick live in Barripper, near Camborne in Cornwall, and have four children, with the youngest being nine months old.

Floodwater forced the family out of their home on Monday after the South West was battered Storm Chandra on Monday and Tuesday, causing widespread flooding and damage.

The family moved into an Airbnb but more rain on Thursday meant the property they were staying in also flooded and they were forced to leave.

An updated yellow rain warning is in place from 18:00 GMT on Monday to 21:00 on Tuesday in Devon and Cornwall - the third such warning in the past week.

Laverick said she had to "laugh a bit or you end up crying a lot" as the family worked out how to move back into their home.

Tulley said: "The whole garden and 360 degrees around our garden was flooded [on Monday]. I got my wellies on and tried my hardest to stop the flooding coming in."

Laverick added: "We drove away from the house and I just cried.

"Things are replaceable; but all the time, energy, hard work and memories we have already in that house just seem tainted."

The family packed up their belongings and initially stayed with friends. They then moved into an Airbnb nearby in Falmouth, but that was also affected by flooding.

Tulley said: "It was like deja vu all over again. Everyone and everything out of the house."

His partner added: "Trying to maintain a stable life for the children is the most important thing, and on top of that running a business.

"It's just a lot. It's tiring. You have to laugh a bit or you end up crying a lot. We just have to take it one day at a time."

The pair and their children are living at a holiday park for the next two weeks while they work out how to repair their home.

"It's far fetched for a lot of people to understand," Tulley said.

"At the end of the day, I want to cry all the time. We will get through it as a family, but it's not great."

The pair are getting married in August, and Tulley added: "It's been a tough week, and a tough year trying to get into the house again but [getting married] it's something to look forward to."

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