Woman facing flooding 'feels like sacrificial goat'

A woman says she feels like a "sacrificial goat" after being told her home is two days away from flooding.

Lesley Parker, who lives near Burrowbridge on the Somerset Levels, said she was told by Environment Agency (EA) officials that Storm Chandra would cause flooding to her property if an extra pump was not used.

"They've known since last week this situation was happening and we're being forgotten again," she said.

Ian Withers, Wessex Director at the EA, agreed there was "every possibility" properties could flood and that was why warnings were issued. He said the agency was installing extra pumps to try and clear some water off the Somerset Levels.

Follow live updates on flooding in Somerset here.

Chandra is the third major storm to hit the UK this month, after Goretti and Ingrid caused significant damage and disruption.

The Met Office said heavy rain falling on already saturated ground was likely to lead to flooding and disruption.

Parker said she had been concerned about the flood risk for days.

"The flood water is coming towards my house. I need pumps. I phoned to try and get an update and the reply was: 'not immediately'," she added.

Responding to Parker's concerns, Withers said residents were "absolutely not being forgotten" and extra pumps would be brought in this week.

He said there was also a pumping station at Saltmoor which was "working routinely all the time".

But residents who are part of the Flooding on the Levels Action Group (Flag) also criticised the EA's decision making process.

"Our principal concern at present is not the infrastructure itself, but the timing and decision-making around its operation," the group said.

"During last week's significant rainfall, pumping capacity at Northmoor Pumping Station was severely impacted due to planned electrical works.

"Several vital days of pumping capacity were lost. This has had a clear and tangible impact on water levels across the Northmoor area," members added.

However, Withers said the planned outages had no impact on preparation for the rainfall.

"The power outages didn't impact on our ability to get back to a level playing field in advance of this rain," he said.

"We will do everything we can to focus on the communities we know are often problematic.

"We're at the mercy of the weather as ever," he added.

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