South East Water apologises for Eastbourne homes flooding : 'We are so sorry'

Houses in Linden Close were flooded on Monday (July 4) when the pipe burst at around 1.30pm.

Resident Matthew Warrington said, “It was like a wave, there was no stopping it.”

The deluge rushed in, damaging his ground floor with contaminated water.

Mr Warrington said, “I'll lose everything downstairs. South East Water doesn't have an emergency number. I spent 30 minutes on the phone and then they took another 30 minutes to get out here.”

Natalie Skeggs was at home with her 11-month-old grandson. She said, “It was like a like a river coming out my backdoor. Everything is ruined from the front to back door.”

Dave and Andrea Carter were out and called by neighbours. Mr Carter said, “We got there to find the house was floating.

“It was a disturbing day.”

The last time the homes were flooded for the same reason was in 2018. It happened again in June and twice in September.

Resident Tricia Stewart said, “I can't understand why it keeps happening here. We were told it would be fixed and nothing has happened.”

Mr Warrington said, “It took nine months to fix everything last time. We'd just started to relax again and now it's happened again.

“South East Water made promises last time it wouldn't happen again, it's ridiculous.”

Read the full story here about the floods

South East Water has issued an apology to residents.

Ben Hewes, South East Water’s distribution manager, said, “We are so sorry to anyone impacted by a burst water main in Hampden Park, Eastbourne.

“Our team repaired the leaking pipework in the early hours of Tuesday morning (July 5) and all customers now have their normal water supply back.

“The leak has caused some flooding to a number of properties and our specialist team has been working closely with impacted customers and will continue to give them the support they require.

“All of our water pipes are assessed using a risk matrix system so we can prioritise which areas need to be upgraded.

“We are aware this pipe also burst in 2018 and will be monitoring the network to ensure it is as resilient as possible.”

Photos of the floods

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