Families left 'devastated' by floods on New Year's Day
Families in Stockport say they have been left "devastated" by flooding on New Year's Day – and claim calls to clear drains outside their homes were "ignored" beforehand.
Alan and Lyn Russell's home, on Glandon Drive in Cheadle Hulme, was flooded by "two to three inches of water" when heavy rain pounded Greater Manchester and caused havoc across the region. The couple say their house is two miles from the nearest waterway, but rain running down a hill on Ack Lane West created a "lake" on their street in the early hours of the morning on New Year's Day.
Their carpet was completely ruined and had to be ripped out, and nearly all their furniture in the living room was damaged.
They say they reported the blocked grids to Stockport council on December 6 but these were not cleaned until January 2 – after huge damage had already been done.
Alan, 77, said: "It's the grids on the road that are blocked, it's been years since they were cleared. I am quite angry about it, because we told the council what would happen and they didn't do anything.
"Every bit of rain causes the grid to flood and we get a lake outside. We've complained about it to the council but nothing gets done."
During the early hours of the morning on New Year's Day, Alan and Lyn's son-in-law had to come round to unblock the grid to allow some of the water to drain, the couple claimed.
Lyn, 79, said their home was left soaking wet and fears the family could now be at risk from damp.
"We were getting ready for bed [on New Year's Eve] and I realised water was coming towards us and the kitchen was flooded," she explained. "We wouldn't have survived if my son-in-law hadn't come round with his rods to clear the grid.
"Now it's a health and safety issue. My grandson was crying afterwards because he comes to do gardening here, but he can't come now with this."
While United Utilities is not responsible for cleaning the street drains, it said there are no known problems with sewage spills on Glandon Drive, and it has not received any reports of sewage on the street.
Alan and Lyn's neighbour, Dave Young, 50, also had water enter his home this week. He said it was "up to the ankles" in the house where he lives with his wife and two teenage children, and caused the electricity to trip.
He wants the council to do more to clean grids and gullies and stop the event happening again in future.
Dave said: "My wife and I were just watching the water come in, I've never felt so hopeless in my life.
"We went to bed around 3.30am and in the morning we were clearing for about 15 hours until it was vaguely dry. The damage will cost tens of thousands of pounds.
"The council did nothing [to clean grids] until the street was flooded. This has been devastating. Coming here to see our neighbour's home and carpet so wet was just heartbreaking.
"There's a sense of frustration because they knew there was a risk and they have either not done anything about it or chosen to ignore it and that's negligence.
"There's a real risk that this could happen to us again and that's not right. Someone could get seriously hurt if they do nothing, someone could easily trip in the water. When you see water pouring into your home you just panic."
During a visit to the area on January 3, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) found several grids on Ack Lane West which appear to be completely blocked.
Stockport Council said the flooding was caused by "unprecedented rainfall," but plans to set up a review into what lessons can be learned.
A spokesperson added: "In Stockport, the River Mersey reached almost 70cm higher than its previously recorded highest level.
"From lunchtime on December 31 through to the morning of January 1, we experienced an exceptional deluge of rain, which overwhelmed rivers, streams, and culverts across the borough.
"The sheer volume of rainfall over such a short period created challenges that were extremely difficult to manage, as most people will have witnessed firsthand.
"Unfortunately, though unexpected this time, these types of events are becoming more prevalent so we would recommend that everyone signs up to the Environment Agency's Flood Alert System for the latest guidance and information about potential flooding in their area.
"Our teams are currently focused on supporting residents, cleaning roads, and helping the borough to recover as quickly as possible.
"Whilst we know that the underlying cause of the flooding was the huge amount of rain that fell the council will undertake a formal review to establish what happened in precise locations and any lessons that can be learned."
Both families who spoke to the LDRS have had to have their homes assessed by their insurance companies and they are now worried that the flooding could cause costs to jump.
The flooding hit homes and businesses across Stockport and in other parts of Greater Manchester, with residents in flats in Meadow Mill having to be evacuated.
Councillors in Stockport have demanded improvements to the borough's grid and gully cleaning programme.
Stockport Labour group leader, Cllr David Meller, said while the council can not be blamed for extreme weather, it has to do everything it can to minimise the damage, including making sure grids and culverts are regularly cleared.
"There needs to be a thorough investigation into what has happened, with actions that we can take as a result of this," he told the LDRS.
"We are concerned that the gully cleaning programme is not working as well as it should be.
"The majority of gullies on one street – Lavington Avenue – were blocked and it was taking residents with sticks to clear them. We need to look at if it [gully cleaning] is working, I'm not convinced it is.
"The council can't control the heavens but there are things we can be doing [to help], but I am not sure that is happening."
Conservative Cllr Peter Crossen, who represents Bramhall South and Woodford, said repeated requests from residents to clear blocked grids are being ignored by Stockport council.
He raised the issue at council meetings at the end of 2024 and told the LDRS in October that blocked drains around Bramhall were a risk to residents and businesses.
Mr Crossen said: "Grids and gullies are being backed up across the ward. Two weeks ago businesses were out with buckets trying to clear the drains, some are still paying off the damage from flooding in 2019 – we will be losing businesses off our high street if we do not tackle this.
"There are children affected [by flood damage], elderly people waiting for operations, it's just not good enough.
"I have a big amount of sympathy for the council, these events were a result of the river flooding, but I do not have sympathy when it's grids and gullies being reported to the council time and time again when a quick fix can be done."
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