A family that live on the Welsh-English border have been told they won't be able to return home for Christmas after a landslide struck their house. Amy Pearce and her family live in Redbrook near Monmouthshire.
On Thursday, November 10, the family were woken up by a loud noise, which turned out to be a landslide. A spokesperson for Severn Trent confirmed that a burst water main was reported in Redbrook on the same day, which was stopped within 24 hours of being reported. They also confirmed an investigation into the slippage was currently ongoing and the cause remained unclear.
According to Amy, who has lived in the house for three years and a half with her young family, they haven't been back to their family home since the incident. The family have had to buy new clothes and are living with limited items.
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"Basically we were all asleep on the Wednesday night and then at 4 o'clock on the Thursday morning we heard this huge noise," Amy said. "I woke up and thought: 'What is that?'.
"The next thing I knew the doorbell went and it was a neighbour saying: 'Quick, get out the house, there is a landslide.' So we just sort of grabbed the children and left. We didn't see much of the house because it was so dark. It was awful. Trying to wake up my children and tell them that we needed to leave while trying to remain calm was difficult.
"We have been evacuated and haven't been back in since. The landslide has knocked the back of the garage – all of the garage is now unstable. It's kind of pushed through some fencing by the front house. The actual house is okay but they are worried with the back bit being all unstable the whole lot could go."
According to Amy the family has been told that work following the incident will take from 12 to 18 months meaning that the family will not be able to return to the family home for Christmas. The family are currently staying in a B&B while they look for temporary accommodation elsewhere.
Amy said: "Now we are in a B&B – it's lovely, the people have been wonderful with us. But it's not home and now, with Christmas approaching, we are kind of looking for something to rent but who knows? There is nothing out there at the moment in regard to renting.
"I feel that I'm glad we got out but it is overwhelming not knowing where we are going to live – especially with children involved. They understand what has happened and that we won't be going home for Christmas – I think they are just remaining hopeful that we will find somewhere eventually for Christmas. We are trying not to stress them.
"My daughter is having a bit of a worry about it – she is a bit of a worrier. We had pets in the house as well, we have two dogs, but they've had to go elsewhere. We don't have the dogs with us so they're missing them too."
Amy claimed the family haven't "heard a lot" from water company Severn Trent. She added that she feels that the family has been "forgotten" while work is being carried out following the landslide.
"It feels like we don't know what is going here," she said. "We are not hearing a lot from Severn Trent. In the beginning the communication was quite good. But by now it feels like we are getting nothing. I feel like they have their work planned but we are forgotten, maybe, even though we are in this awful situation. I know it could be a lot worse but it could be a lot better. What would make this situation better is obviously is have somewhere to live and something to help for Christmas for the children."
In response however a spokesman for Severn Trent acknowledged that it was a "distressing" situation for Amy and the family but said that they had been in "constant contact" with all affected residents. They said: “This has clearly been a distressing situation for Ms Pearce and her family however we disagree with some of the claims made regarding the way in which Severn Trent has dealt with this incident.
"We responded to a burst water main in Redbrook on November 10. Despite the burst being in a difficult-to-reach location which required access via offroad buggy it was stopped within 24 hours of being reported. An investigation into the cause of the slippage is currently ongoing.
"Both Severn Trent and our loss adjusters have been in constant contact with all affected residents throughout the process and the matter has been passed to our insurers. This is a complex situation and we appreciate that this is a very distressing circumstance. We will continue to work closely with all parties to find a resolution as quickly as possible."
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