Heavy rain causes major problems across city

PERSISTENT heavy rain has been continuing to cause major problems for residents and businesses across Chester.

Homes were flooded, roads were closed and public transport was severely disrupted as torrential rain drenched the region for the second day running.

Flooding hit homes in the Parkgate Road and Tarvin Road areas of Chester along with homes in Ellesmere Port and Great Sutton.

Highways officers partially closed the busy A540 Parkgate Road heading into Chester as water submerged the road forcing the Texaco Service Station to close.

Director Jacqueline Slater turned away a fuel delivery as conditions were too dangerous and watched flood water pour into a cottage she owns in nearby Abbot’s Terrace.

She said: “It is horrendous and things are getting worse. There is nothing anyone can do and we just need the rain to stop.

“The fire brigade have been here but they are fighting a losing battle.
“The water in the cottage is over a foot deep and it has ruined the carpets, the fridge and the cooker.

“It is heartbreaking and it’s the kind of things you normally only see on television.”

The tanker driver was unable to deliver fuel as water threatened to flood the fuel pipes and the garage is now only open to account customers.

Mrs Slater said: “We hired a pump to try and drain the water but it was no good.
“We have only got limited fuel and we are worried we will get fined for not being able to take the delivery.”

Nearby Treetops Hopscotch Nursery has escaped the flooding so far but yesterday parents were asked to collect their children as road conditions worsened.

Almost 200 pupils from Willaston Church of England Primary School were told to stay at home after a power failure – believed to be caused by the downpours – forced the school to close for the day on Tuesday.

Cheshire West and Chester Council received hundreds of calls from residents about the extreme weather.

Highways engineers and streetscene staff handed out sandbags to households and businesses in danger of imminent flooding.

Many roads remained closed while Arriva Trains Wales, Merseyrail and Virgin Trains again suffered service disruptions with no trains between Chester and Liverpool and long delays between Chester and Crewe.

Cllr Lynn Riley, executive member for community and environment, said: “Our focus remains the protection of homes and the travelling public.

“We are continuing to help residents and alleviate drainage problems where and when we are able.

“In many of the problem areas water is flowing from adjacent land onto the roads or into ditches that are also used by the highway for drainage.

“We will continue to monitor the weather for later on tonight. We will have people on standby and ready to help in needs of emergency.”