Families in flood-hit city say Christmas is RUINED after torrential rain ‘destroyed’ their houses – with extra moist climate on the best way

Families in a Welsh town say Christmas has been ‘destroyed’ after their homes were flooded by torrential rain, with children waking up to find water gushing in. 

Devastated residents of Briton Ferry in Neath Port Talbot had to bail out floodwater using buckets after presents around the tree were soaked yesterday morning.

Sandbags were not enough to protect some homes on Hunter Street as cars were submerged, drains overflowed and living rooms and kitchens were deluged.

Locals also accused some motorists of making the situation worse by driving through the floodwater which caused waves up to 2ft high to splash against properties.

The situation could worsen tomorrow after the Met Office issued a new yellow rain warning covering South Wales and South West England, from 10am to midnight.

Forecasters said up to 25mm (1in) of rain is likely to accumulate quite widely across the warning area, but 60mm (2.4in) is possible over higher ground in South Wales.

Robert and Catherine Jones, who have two young children, said their Christmas was ‘destroyed’ after the ground floor of their rented home on Hunter Street was flooded.

The couple’s five-year-old son George woke up and walked downstairs yesterday morning to find water coming through the front door and the window of the home.

The water level reached 2ft which Mr Jones said left the furniture floating around the living room – while the kitchen, bathroom and back garden were also underwater.

The family’s Christmas tree, ornaments, toys, a train track and photo albums were all ruined by the flood, and they had to book a hotel to stay in overnight last night.

Chris Toma, who lives nearby, told Wales Online a fire crew cleared floodwater from the street at about midnight – but by the early hours water was ‘inside the house’.

He said: ‘There was water up to the first step of the stairs. We had to take the water out with a mop and towels. We got most of it out but a lot went under the laminate floors in the hallway and the living room. We’ll have to take the flooring out.’

Residents, who used sandbags to try to protect homes, said they had not seen the area flood before – while the deluge also impacted businesses on the street.

Svetlana Lilley, who owns the Wool&Silk Art Studio, said: ‘It’s absolutely awful. My neighbours called me and said they’d put sandbags by the door but it wasn’t enough.

‘The water was too high today, it went into the studio and the bags outside didn’t stop it whatsoever. It was flooding in from the front and back.’

Motorists have still been driving through the high water levels in the area which has made the flooding worse, according to other locals.

Daniel Popp said: ‘People are so inconsiderate even after pleading with them not to go through the water they completely ignored myself and others and made things two times worse for people on the street.

‘It was worse when the cars were coming through, the waves coming off it were about 2ft high.’

Elsewhere in Neath Port Talbot, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service rescued a person from a car stuck in floodwater about 15 miles away in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen.

The Met Office issued an amber rain warning for South Wales yesterday and the flooding also resulted in roads being closed and railway lines being blocked.

A Neath Port Talbot Council spokesperson said: ‘All resources have been and are being deployed in response to the heavy rainfall, including highways, drainage and neighbourhood operational teams.

‘Resources are being coordinated from the council’s Service Response Centre (SRC) with property flooding and high speed road flooding being prioritised.

‘Our crews have been very busy clearing drainage infrastructure and delivering sandbags to prevent and mitigate the impacts of flooding.’

Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said the rain will ease for many parts of Britain today and bring fairly clear skies, sunshine and a chill.

But he added: ‘There’s another transition for the UK’s weather on Wednesday, as we return to more widely wet and windy conditions, initially in the west but spreading over much of the country through the day.

‘This is likely to once again top up rainfall totals in already sensitive areas in south Wales and the South West of England.

‘Further unsettled weather is likely on Thursday and in the latter part of the week, with low pressure continuing to influence the weather into the weekend.’

The Environment Agency had 21 flood warnings and 106 alerts in place for England today, while Natural Resources Wales imposed two warnings and 14 alerts.

The Met Office said weather stations had ‘recorded some huge rainfall totals’ in the 48 hours to 9am yesterday, including 360mm (14in) at Honister Pass in Cumbria.