A stables in Cwmavon, Port Talbot flooded this week for the eight time in seven years, leaving sewage on the stable grounds. On Thursday, (January, 13), animals in Pandtu Stables were stuck in 3ft of water just months after stables owner Denise Radford, 54, spent thousands of pounds fixing previous water damage.
Ms Radford claimed that blocked drains, issues with sewage pipes and a river that was moved near her stables have caused ongoing flooding to her stables in Pandtu for around seven years. Her stables first flooded on Tuesday, January 10 and she was faced with a disgusting sight.
"There's all human faeces, there's condoms, there's toilet paper. Everything that people put in their toilet is all in my yard, floating around," she said. Although the stables has flooded multiple times, she said sewage has flooded into her stables "a couple" times previously. You can read more stories about Neath here.
The stables have been owned by Ms Radford's family for 50 years and they never used to have any trouble, she said. "Council drainage is not being looked after properly," claims Ms Radford. After spending £3,500 "lifting" her paddock- which is the first part of the stables to usually flood- with stones and soil and trying to improve the drainage, she is devastated that it has flooded again, she said. "We're back to square one. We're devastated. This time it has sickened me," said Ms Radford.
On top of damage to her paddock, Ms Radford said she had to throw away 25 rolls of hay as they were "full of faeces". She explained each roll of hay costs £50 and said the floods are costing her money during an already difficult cost-of-living crisis. "I couldn't believe my eyes," she said, "there were feed bins floating around the yard too."
On how the flooding has affected her wellbeing, Ms Radford said her mental health is "through the roof". "It's had a massive impact on me," she said, "I'm just worried sick about my horses all the time. It's putting years on my life."
Ms Radford said she called the council for sandbags on Tuesday and called Welsh Water for support but did not receive sandbags until Thursday, January 12 when the flooding had worsened due to heavy rain and the fire service was called out. A spokesperson for Neath Port Talbot Council said staff attended Pandtu, Cwmavon earlier this week when many parts of Wales experienced a month’s rain in 24 hours. The spokesperson added they actioned a request for sandbags and also assisted with gully machines.
"All I'm asking is for the council and Welsh Water to please get together and let's solve this problem. We're paying out on our side and getting all this work done to try and save our land and animals and they're not doing anything," Ms Radford said. She also claimed the council have told her that the flooding is due to the high tide of the nearby river.
But six years ago, a nearby drain was unblocked by the council, said Ms Radford, and she was told sewage pipes in Pandtu would be looked into. "Years later, I'm still ringing them," she said. "If this work was done, this wouldn't be happening to my horses," she said.
A spokesperson for Neath Port Talbot Council said that sewage issues should be reported to Welsh Water, while a spokesperson for Welsh Water said they received reports of flooding at the property and sent a team to investigate.
“On attending the site, we found that following the heavy rain, rain water coming from the mountain side had flooded the area which in turn overloaded our system.
“We are meeting with the local authority next week and will discuss the matter further with them then”.
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