A STATE of panic gripped Heybridge as floodwater turned a busy stretch of road into a river.
Essex hit by severe floods after heavy rain Clear up starts as Essex battered by heavy rainThe parish bore the brunt of flooding in the area on Saturday as torrential rain battered the county, with residents able to do little more than stand and watch as water flowed into their homes.
This week, residents told the Chronicle their belief that, with appropriate planning by the council and assistance from the police, the damage to their properties could have been averted.
They also claimed that Maldon District Council was informed six months ago about poor drainage on the stretch of Goldhanger Road, near the Spicketts Brook bridge, which became a lake of muddy water on Saturday afternoon.
"It was the heavy rain you only see on TV about monsoons – I have never seen rain like it," said Paul Ratcliff of Goldhanger Road. "It rapidly started to flood the main road outside our house, and then worked its way up the drive.
"We went into the road in atrocious conditions to try to stop or slow the vehicles down. I phoned the police and fire brigade, but was told all pumps were out which was expected, but police officers were on the scene."
Vehicles driving along the road sent waves of water into the homes of Mr Ratcliff and his neighbours houses.
Mr Ratcliff claimed the police officers were of little help, saying: "I walked down to them in bare feet and shorts and asked the officers to close the road, only for the female officer to laugh at me.
"I was flabbergasted. I asked her what she thought was so funny as people were losing their homes. All the homeowners asked them to close the road but the officers did nothing. They said that they didn't have any signs to enable them to close the road.
"We had to drag the officers to each end of the road and force them to close it. One officer fell into a ditch and had to be dragged out. It was a farce, they even failed to stop a further vehicle coming through the cones. It was up to me and my sons to shut the road. I asked the other officer to radio her but he refused.
"I felt utter despair and frustration that, although I was in contact with all the departments, nothing was done."
Mr Ratcliff whose home and garage were flooded, also claimed that Maldon District Council had known about the faulty drains – and the risk of flooding on Goldhanger Road – for more than six months.
He said: "We tried cleaning the drains ourselves, but it was hopeless.
"I rang the police [when the flooding started] to see who was liaising with the council and Environment Agency, but no plans were in place.
"I find this unbelievable that no flooding contingent is in place for a coastal town. All it required was a council or highways agency lorry to come out and clean one drain in the middle of the flood to ease the waters."
Mr Ratcliff was given sandbags by the Environment Agency but feels that, had the police diverted larger vehicles from the road, or even slowed it down, this would have prevented further damage.
He continued: "I would like to know why it escalated to that scale, why there is no flood plan for Maldon even out of hours, why no one takes responsibility to liaise with the different departments, why the police failed to take any action."
Mr Ratcliff's next-door neighbour Clive Chapman, 68, a retired company director in the motor industry, now has to replace all of the carpets on the ground floor of his house, along with a trimmer and a lawnmower that were in his garage.
Mr Chapman said: "To be honest it was really scary. The water seemed to just come up from beneath my house and up into the carpet, and into the house that way – it was amazing just how quick the water took hold of my property.
"Now I'm just left with wet smelly carpets – a flooded garage and a lot of repair work to do."
Mr Chapman is now waiting to hear from his insurance company about the damage he has suffered – and was shocked to hear from his neighbour about the officers.
"I was very shocked to hear about the officers' conduct – what was the point in them even turning up?" he added.
An Essex Police spokesman said: "If a member of the public has made a complaint and it has been officially received by our professional standards department, it will be recorded and dealt with appropriately in liaison with the person who has made the complaint."
A Maldon District Council spokesman said: "Its difficult to say what drains were affected, but responsibility for drainage in the area could lie with the Anglian Water, the Environment Agency or Essex County Council Highways. Landowners also have responsibility for some drainage"
"Each statutory authority will have their own response plan to deal with flooding. The council's primary responsibility is to care for residents made homeless following an emergency incident. The council will try to assist residents wherever possible during an emergency, offering advice or support. On Saturday, teams were working to protect properties affected by the flooding."
"The council treated this incident as a local emergency, and responded wherever possible to calls for assistance from the public."
