Village school forced to close due to flooding

Heavy rains on Sunday and Monday had caused the stream through Leasingham to overflow in places, washing across roads and into the grounds of St Andrew’s Primary School.

The school had been expecting to start the new term on Monday after the fetsive break, but headteacher Matthew Baker said: “Unfortunately, the school was affected by the recent flooding and had to close on Monday and Tuesday.

"The whole school was surrounded by flood water, and water did enter some areas of the building too.

"The water has now receded, and staff have worked hard to thoroughly clean the school, so we were able to reopen this morning (Wednesday) as usual. We’d like to thank parents for their understanding during this difficult time.”

As water levels start to return to normal the focus of members of the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum, which includes emergency services, councils, Environment Agency and drainage boards, has shifted from dealing with the impact as a major incident to looking at how they can provide recovery and support for those who were affected.

An LRF spokesperson said this afternoon: “While we still expect to see high water levels in some areas, the situation is expected to continue to improve in coming days as water levels are dropping and no rain is forecast.

"Residents are still advised to keep checking flood alerts and anyone who hasn’t yet reported a flood is encouraged to do so as this will allow agencies to respond and help. This can be done via: www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/flood-risk-management/report-flood”

A separate multiagency group has been brought together to work on helping people to recover from flooding. Local authorities will be central to this work and will be providing information and assistance directly to impacted communities.

There are some immediate steps you can take if you have been affected by flooding:

Take photographs of any damage – if it is safe to do so – to provide to your insurance company.

Before you attempt to switch anything back on again, get your electric meter checked by the electricity transmission company and get your fuse box and electrical sockets checked by an electrician.

Before you use gas appliances get a Gas Safe Engineer to check they are safe.

More information about what to do after a flood (Gov.uk).

Mark Baxter, Chief Fire Officer and chairman of Lincolnshire’s LRF, said: “It’s been a really challenging few days for many people in our communities and we know this is likely to continue for some time for those who have been flooded. Agencies around the county are working together now to look at offering assistance, ranging from funding to clean-up. There’s still a lot to be discussed and the focus of the group is to help people impacted to get back to normal as soon as possible.

“People in Lincolnshire have really pulled together to help and respond to flooding this week. Local community groups have implemented their Community Resilience Plans and provided much needed support and advice to impacted residents. For more information on Community Resilience Plans please visit the communities programme pages on the LRF website. http://www.lincolnshireresilienceforum.org/resilient-communities-programme/

“As an LRF we have moved away from our emergency response phase and now hand over to colleagues in Local Authorities and other agencies, who will work on the recovery phase of the multiagency response. It’s key that the public is involved in this. We need information from people in our communities about what’s happening in your local area to help us assess and react to situations, any concerns you might have, and we can also help you find information and support. Working together is key to recovering from the dreadful impact of flooding.

“We know that people might be struggling not only with the practical issues as a result of flooding but also the mental and emotional side because having your home or business damaged, or being displaced from it, will of course have an impact. There are several local services who can help and support with that, including housing, so do access them if you need to.

“I have been touched by the way people in Lincolnshire have pulled together to help one another in recent days and have worked with agencies who have been deployed in response to flooding. Community spirit and resilience has really shone through in such trying times.”

To view the current flood alerts get signed up at: gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings

Check for flooding near you on GOV.UK.