‘It was too late’ - Basement flat submerged in 'sewage water' as resident counts cost of latest flooding incident at Littlehampton home
A Littlehampton homeowner says a suspected pump failure left his basement flat filled with ‘sewage water’, after severe overnight flooding.
Residents were evacuated in Littlehampton during the night after their homes were flooded. Up to nine properties were reportedly affected.
Southern Water said a technical failure was experienced, at its Foreshore Water Pumping Station, in the early hours of Thursday, February 19.
Robbie Davison said anything up to almost waist height – in his South Terrace home – was damaged, when water surged into the property.
“As soon as one of the guys from Southern Water came and turned the pump on, within 15 minutes all the water on the roadside had cleared,” he said. “But unfortunately, by then it was too late – it was road level in my basement flat.”
Robbie said the floodwater, which he described as sewage, came up through the toilets as well as through the back door.
“At first I thought it was going to be small, so I tried to block it with blankets, pillows and coal,” he said.
But ‘within three or four minutes’, the water was already rising dramatically.
Many of the Littlehampton resident’s belongings have been ruined, including rare first-edition books and a stamp collection he has built up over decades.
Robbie said he was at home when the water began pouring in.
Firefighters attended and pumped out some of the water before leaving the remainder to Southern Water. While the standing water has now been removed, ‘sludge’ remains throughout the 59-year-old’s flat.
“Anything up to waist height has been affected,” Robbie said.
The incident is not the first time Mr Davison’s home has flooded. A similar incident happened in October 2021, when the front of the property was affected.
Robbie believes a more permanent solution is needed to prevent it happening a third time.
Sussex Police, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and Southern Water were called to the scene of the most recent incident.
A spokesperson for Southern Water said: “We experienced a technical failure at our Foreshore Water Pumping Station in the early hours of Thursday, February 19.
“The heavy rainfall combined with the technical fault have resulted in customers being impacted by internal flooding at St Catherine’s Road and South Terrace, Littlehampton.
“We have worked with the emergency services to help manage the flooding throughout the night. Our customer team have also been on hand to help those residents affected.
“Our engineering teams have managed to get the site operational. We apologise to those customers who have been affected.”
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said three fire engines were sent to the area at 7.20pm.
“Upon arrival crews were met with rising water levels in the surrounding area and quickly identified that several basement properties were under threat of flooding,” a fire service spokesperson said.
"Firefighters pumped floodwater from the affected properties.
“Sussex Police and officers from Southern Water and Arun District Council were also in attendance.”
The last fire crew left the scene at 12.45am on Thursday.
A Sussex Police spokesperson said: “Police were called at 8.15pm on Wednesday, February 18 following a report of flooding in South Terrace, Littlehampton.
“We supported partners including the fire service and the local council to make the area safe for the public.”