A PENSIONER whose house was flooded on New Year's Day says he has been left with 'thousands of pounds' worth of damage.

Peter Bone, who lives on Oakwood Drive in Barrow, had water flooding in his house and his neighbour's properties on the first day of the year.

The 74-year-old explained the incident went on through the night and it carried on for the next four days with subsequent floods on two more days.

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service attended and said a culvert at the rear of the property 'had collapsed' and water was 'close' to entering the property.

A spokesperson said: "Firefighters assisted by using bunding to divert water from the culvert to main drains."

The homeowner said he contacted the council telling them it was an emergency, and requested sandbags but 'nothing happened.' 

His daughter Tracy Clarke said: "Eventually my daughter found the yard, near the Premier Inn in Ulverston, had some sandbags that residents could pick up."

Mr Bone explained a lesser flood incident reoccurred in February. 

Two months after the main incident occurred, he said work has been done to the culverts but he is still left with no answers and thousands of pounds worth of damage.

"The subsequent damage is I have got thousands worth of damage to a conservatory at the rear of my property," he said.

"There doesn’t seem to be a regime in place to inspect the culverts and consequently this flood has been a result of it."

Mr Bone said the council only visited the property once and that the sandbags are still stacked to protect his house.

He said: "There should be a first response to flooding whereby they issue sandbags per household.

"I’m 74 years old, the council have done nothing, they haven’t provided sandbags. They didn’t tell us about this facility in Ulverston which apparently covers Barrow.

"I have stacked the sandbags myself to protect the property so the property won’t flood. I'm not going to remove them until I get an assurance from the council that it won't happen again."

A spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness Council said:  “Following the flooding incident in January 2024, the council visited Mr Bone on 1 February to understand and gather information regarding the issues Mr Bone has experienced. Further communication with Mr Bone occurred on 15 February when further flooding occurred. This was followed by a further inspection by a member of the council’s highway team.

“The council are currently aiming to complete a CCTV survey of the system in the near future to establish exactly where the blockage has occurred. Such CCTV surveys are carried out on a priority basis and residents in the area will be notified as soon as resources have been identified. If further partial blockages are identified, third-party owners will be required to remove the blockages. 

“It should be noted that the council has duties around flood risk management but does not have a statutory duty to either provide sandbags or respond directly during a flood event, with any response being part of a multi-agency action and on a priority basis, such as when there is an identified threat to life or requirement for an immediate evacuation or need for reception centres to be set-up.

“Historically, the approach to providing sandbags to communities varied across legacy district councils and was often implemented on an ad-hoc basis. We are currently reviewing our policy as a new unitary authority to establish a policy that is uniform across the area and addresses the needs of our communities more effectively. It is anticipated this will be harmonised before next winter.

“We appreciate the ongoing challenges faced by our communities due to flooding and flood risk, and the worry this must bring. We are dedicated to pursuing all available avenues to protect our communities from these ever-increasing environmental challenges and our focus remains on the welfare of our residents and the protection of their properties.”