A Barnoldswick woman who was told “it’s not raining in Burnley” as her home flooded has praised Lancashire County Council for swift action 10 days later.
Anne Ainley, who lives at Raikes Beck Cottage in Long Ing Lane, is still dealing with dirty carpets and warped wooden floors following the flash flood which struck during a freak rainstorm on August 14th.
But Mrs Ainley has praised Lancashire County Council’s response since that date, with the pavement and road outside her home assessed and marked up for corrective drainage action by last Friday and workmen on site on Tuesday morning.
New larger drains are being installed together with improved drainage channels and kerbing in an attempt to stop a repeat of the flooding.
Mrs Ainley said: “I appreciate the swiftness of the actions in coming out to attempt to improve the drains so thank you for that. The proof if it works will be the next time we get a flash flood.
“I would still like to see the drains cleaned out more than once a year. They used to come out to them twice a year.
“You wouldn’t believe the amount of leaves which gather around the house when they fall off the trees in autumn, it can be up to a foot high in my driveway. They get into the drains and clog them up.”
Meanwhile, campaigners against a proposed 29-home development in the adjacent field to Raikes Beck Cottage say Mrs Ainley’s plight underlines the point that building on the green field site would further increase the flooding risk in that location (see Readers’ Views, pages 10 and 11).
