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Flooding woes continue in Newbury and across West Berkshire after Shirley Howe’s house in Glebefields, Shaw loses power




Flooding woes continue to affect residents across the district weeks after they first began, with several gardens still submerged in several inches of water.

Shirley Howe is a resident of Glebefields in Shaw, and her property backs onto the River Lambourn.

For weeks now her back garden and a path that runs past the back of neighbouring properties have been flooded after the river burst its banks, restricting access as well as causing electrical issues within her house.

Mrs Howe has had power cut from her property on Glebefields in Shaw due to the flooding
Mrs Howe has had power cut from her property on Glebefields in Shaw due to the flooding

She has a fuse box in the garden, and water damage has affected the power in her home.

“Because we’ve had the floods, that [electric point] goes through and fuses the conservatory so there are no lights in there, and no lights at the bottom part of the house,” Mrs Howe said.

“I have had to plug in right the way through, so until [the flooding] all goes again, I can’t get the electrics seen to.”

The decking at the bottom of Mrs Howe’s garden has been completely submerged in water for several weeks
The decking at the bottom of Mrs Howe’s garden has been completely submerged in water for several weeks

She has lived at the property for 10 years, and although her garden has been hit by flooding before, this is the first time it has affected her home’s electricity.

She suffered with a skin condition that was caused by soil contamination when her garden was flooded previously.

Her daughter Linda Durham who lives just a few doors down said: “It was not a nice sight to see her face like that. It wasn’t nice at all.”

‘We keep having this and it is awful’
‘We keep having this and it is awful’

Since the first bout of flooding, Mrs Howe has had men round to clear the decking and the back garden where it was submerged, but she fears she will have to repeat this process again once the water levels drop.

She also fears that the continued flooding will have caused permanent damage to her garden decking, causing it to rot and fall away. She says this would cost a sizable sum for her to replace.

Despite the build-up in problems caused by the continued flooding, Mrs Howe isn’t sure what can be done to lessen the impact in the future.

The rear path behind Mrs Howe’s property on Glebefields has been flooded which has caused access problems for her and her neighbours, some of which have mobility issues
The rear path behind Mrs Howe’s property on Glebefields has been flooded which has caused access problems for her and her neighbours, some of which have mobility issues

Her only suggestion was to install some sort of drain on the rear path so that excess water can enter the sewage system, but she is unsure whether there is the infrastructure to implement such a change.

She said: “That’s what it needs you know, because we keep having this and it is awful.”



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