Family's £900k home now "worthless" after being flooded with raw sewage twice in three years
- last year
A family's £900,000 dream home is now "worthless" after being flooded with raw sewage - twice in the last three years.
Helen and Ashley Northway’s 17th century stone farmhouse was overflowing with foul water after heavy rain swept the UK last week.
The six-bedroom property was overwhelmed despite £230,000 being spent on flood defences and drain upgrades in their village in 2021.
The couple’s home sits in a natural dip in the centre of Raunds, Northants., which has been hit with flooding in recent years.
On Christmas Eve 2020 the family desperately tried to save presents and valuables after the entire ground floor of their home was under 3ft of water.
Because of bad drainage and a faulty sewage pipe, foul waste swept into the house, leaving the family with a huge clean-up bill.
The couple complained to Northamptonshire Highways and engineers repaired misconnected sewage pipes and built two soakaways to absorb surface water at a cost of £230,000.
But just over two years later, the family’s property was once again submerged after last week’s downpours.
After being exposed to raw sewage, the couple, their 10-month-old daughter Evelyn,
10-year-old disabled son Archie and Helen’s 89-year-old grandmother June, all fell ill.
Helen and husband Ashley, 43, a veteran army bomb disposal expert with the Royal Engineers, bought the house in 2017.
They spent £200,000 converting the 380-year-old building into a family home including a fully-equipped annexe for Helen's grandmother.
The couple, who were childhood sweethearts, hoped the property would prove to be an investment for their children when they got older.
However, they say it is now “worthless” and are unable to sell it or insure it against future flooding.
Helen also blames a sprawling 400-home development which has been built at the end of her road for increasing the pressure on the drains.
Since the road repairs were carried out the family have called out the fire service to pump water from the street outside their home into the nearby brook multiple times.
Helen and Ashley Northway’s 17th century stone farmhouse was overflowing with foul water after heavy rain swept the UK last week.
The six-bedroom property was overwhelmed despite £230,000 being spent on flood defences and drain upgrades in their village in 2021.
The couple’s home sits in a natural dip in the centre of Raunds, Northants., which has been hit with flooding in recent years.
On Christmas Eve 2020 the family desperately tried to save presents and valuables after the entire ground floor of their home was under 3ft of water.
Because of bad drainage and a faulty sewage pipe, foul waste swept into the house, leaving the family with a huge clean-up bill.
The couple complained to Northamptonshire Highways and engineers repaired misconnected sewage pipes and built two soakaways to absorb surface water at a cost of £230,000.
But just over two years later, the family’s property was once again submerged after last week’s downpours.
After being exposed to raw sewage, the couple, their 10-month-old daughter Evelyn,
10-year-old disabled son Archie and Helen’s 89-year-old grandmother June, all fell ill.
Helen and husband Ashley, 43, a veteran army bomb disposal expert with the Royal Engineers, bought the house in 2017.
They spent £200,000 converting the 380-year-old building into a family home including a fully-equipped annexe for Helen's grandmother.
The couple, who were childhood sweethearts, hoped the property would prove to be an investment for their children when they got older.
However, they say it is now “worthless” and are unable to sell it or insure it against future flooding.
Helen also blames a sprawling 400-home development which has been built at the end of her road for increasing the pressure on the drains.
Since the road repairs were carried out the family have called out the fire service to pump water from the street outside their home into the nearby brook multiple times.