Eastbourne flood victim ‘at the point of a nervous breakdown’

On July 4 a row of houses in Linden Close were flooded.

It was the fourth time the homes have been flooded due to a burst water pipe. The same thing happened three times in 2018.

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Matthew Warrington was one of the affected residents and said he's been struggling since it happened.

He said: “South East Water's insurance adjuster is making this whole process extremely hard and South East Water are now arguing about what they should pay for.

“With the stress it's causing me I'm almost at the point of a nervous breakdown.”

Mr Warrington said since the flood happened a company came to start the clear out and install driers and now three weeks on, the houses are dry.

He said South East Water has given each household £1,000 to cover bills and extra expenses, but 'we have now exhausted this and are struggling to get more'.

The process hasn't been simple according to Mr Warrington.

He said: “I have now made contact with South East Water insurance department directly in the hope of getting things moving quicker I have managed to receive half the value of my items and I am still waiting on the rest my neighbours are waiting for a payment still.

“We are now waiting to hear when work is going to start.”

These accusations were put to South East Water.

Steve Andrews, South East Water’s head of operations, said: “We are immensely sorry for the amount of disruption caused to anyone impacted by flooding in Linden Close both this year and in 2018.

“Incidents like these are extremely rare but we take the aftercare process incredibly seriously to ensure we can minimise the impact to our customers.

“We’re working very closely with the affected customers to understand exactly what property has been damaged. Our specially-trained team are in constant communication with the customers, every step of the way.

“We work with our insurers and loss adjustors to ensure that any damaged property or items can be replaced.”

The group of affected residents are now looking for any legal help they can get. Please email Mr Warrington on [email protected] or call 07878097569 if you can help.

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