Harlow teenager forced to remove 'sewage-ridden' floodwater from home hours before GCSE exam

Heavy rain across Essex caused issues for many people at the end of May, but for one resident of Spencers Croft in Harlow, and her family, the effects were devastating. With nowhere else to flow, the water from the incessant rain flooded into her home, and that of her neighbours, on the evening of Tuesday, May 21, wreaking havoc in her home until the early hours of Wednesday morning, and keeping her 16-year-old son from sleeping the night before a physics GCSE exam.

Susan, 49, of Spencers Croft said: “The flooding started in the garden, seeped through the door, and before we could get ready, it was everywhere. Our cooker was still spilling out water for two days afterwards”. Susan and her family were shocked to find water rising up to their ankles in their ground floor council flat.

Susan added: “It was the first time in 17 years that this has happened, so I don’t think that anyone was prepared. It’s not expected, you’re not prepared for it. I didn't know how to deal with it, and ran to my neighbour’s door. I didn’t understand why we were having that kind of flooding in Harlow. I didn’t know what to do.

READ MORE: Harlow families left with practically nothing as homes are destroyed after flooding

READ MORE: Take our quiz to find out if you could pass a GCSE maths exam

“I thought, what if we can’t contain this? What are we going to do? What if it gets worse? The water was just rising. It felt like something you would see in the movies, not here.

“It was moving quite fast. By the time I told the children to lift up all of the electricals from the floor, some of them were damp, and some of their books were already wet, because we couldn’t move fast enough. The water was seeping through doors”.

The water flowed through a row of 11 homes, causing another family to be carried to safety through a window, as the pressure of the water was so great that they could not open the front door.

Susan said: “There were blocked drains in the area, so it was raining, but as the water had nowhere to go, it was just passing through. I’ve had to strip all of the carpet”. As she had to work, and take as little time off as possible, Susan was desperately working to clear the damage to her and her family’s home. “I’ve been doing it all morning, since 2am. I had to start then, because I have to work quickly as you need to take it up before it starts moulding.

“They were intending on pumping the water out, but all of the drains in the area were blocked, so they were manually helping. We were using old cupboards from my neighbour to get the water out.’ My other neighbour and a fireman were holding the doors to release the water pressure, and we were scooping it out. There were six firemen helping me in my flat because of the amount of water.

Flood water was 'mixed with sewage'

“My children had to help, particularly my son who is in the middle of his GCSEs. He didn’t have anywhere to sit down and revise. We were told that the water was mixed with sewage, so by the time he got to bed it was about 2am. I had to call his school and tell them about it because he had a GCSE exam that day. His laptop, his adaptor, and where he normally does his homework was all affected by water”.

Susan’s son still sat his exam, albeit while extremely tired. “I was worried that because there were other children who go to the school who would not have been affected by the flood, that they wouldn’t believe it.

“It came through the garden door, through the kitchen and went into all of the rooms. All of them. My son’s bedroom, my bedroom, the living room, the toilet. All of our clothes were affected, I’m washing them all now. There’s damp under my son’s wardrobe because the floors are still wet. The flood came up to my ankles”.

Harlow Fire Station Manager, Jon Ford, said: “We were called to help in Spencers Croft on Tuesday evening where a number of houses were flooded. One of the things we always advise if you’ve been around floodwater is to wash your hands before you eat, drink or smoke. That’s because you don’t know where the floodwater has come from and travelled through. It can be contaminated by sewers, drains and the roads."

Susan added: “The council are responsible for the flat, but for the contents it is me. My furniture, everything, it’s my responsibility. If I don’t have insurance, I have to buy it again. I was told by the insurance company that there might be a rise in bacteria and because of the smell, it might not be a good idea to stay here.’

Since the flooding, Susan sought out another place to live while the damage is repaired. “We have asked for temporary accommodation, but we haven’t heard anything yet”. In the meantime, she has been recommended that she applies to a Property Flood Resilience grant scheme.

'Support provided to residents affected'

A spokesperson from Harlow Council said: “We know that several areas of the town experienced significant flooding due to the heavy rainfall including homes in Spencers Croft. In response, we provided support to those affected and delivered sandbags to protect homes from further flooding. Essex Highways and Thames Water are both responsible for the town’s drainage. We are raising all incidences of property flooding with both of them and requesting further investigations are carried out to find out what happened”.

Get more news from EssexLive straight to your inbox for FREE