VIDEO: Call for action after '˜excessive' flood damage at haulage company
Staff at Kenneth Howley Transport in Castleford claim the company failed to turn on pumps that could have prevented the flooding.
Banned driver crashed into tree during rush-hour police chaseAfter a night of torrential rain, staff returned to work on Friday morning to find that the business, on Green Lane, had been flooded by more than a foot of water.
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Hide AdFlooding has been a recurring problem for the firm, who estimated in 2013 that repeated flood damage had cost around £90,000 in total.
Staff believe the recent flooding could have been avoided if the nearby Yorkshire Water pumping station had turned the pumps on when the rain arrived.
Tracy Nicholls, who works as a sales advisor at the firm, said: “You’d think if it’s an ongoing problem they’d do something about it. It’s an excessive amount of damage and it could have been avoided.
“When this happens we lose earnings, we have to send people home.
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Hide Ad“Down the lane it’s absolutely ridiculous, it’s cracked all the concrete. There’s sewage floating about in the yard.
“Yorkshire Water assured us that someone had turned on the pumps but either they hadn’t or the pumps didn’t work.”
Co-op complains to government as uncertainty clouds new store plansAnd the company were forced to rely on generators for several hours after the floodwater caused a power cut on Friday afternoon.
They estimate that it will cost thousands of pounds to replace and repair damage caused to vehicles, power tools, equipment and concrete structures.
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Hide AdMs Nicholls said: “We had engineers out Friday night working into the early hours of Saturday morning to try and get the power back.
“This is the worst I’ve seen it, you can’t even get to the toilets. If you went downstairs you’d need a dinghy. The drains are backlogging and there’s sewage in the water.”
A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “We have been working closely with the customer to provide support in what is an understandably stressful time.
“Pumps have removed a significant amount of water and we will deploy a road sweeper to clean the road.
“We will continue to work closely with the customer and do all we can to help.”