Flood defences and community response help Leicestershire couple 'Stand up to Flooding'

January 2024

Sharon said: “We were away for New Year when we had a phone call about 10pm from the local Flood Warden to say the house was being flooded.

“Supplies of sandbags had run out and water was pouring through the house from the River Soar.

“The electrics had gone. The water was six inches up the wall. 

“Even when the water went down, the whole ground floor was damp and dirty. Everything had to be ripped out.”

Because there was no flooring downstairs, Mark and Sharon were forced to live upstairs from January to October. 

Sharon added: “Living in the house in those conditions actually made us ill. The damp got onto our chests. The whole experience was really stressful.”

In October 2024, the couple moved into temporary accommodation so that repairs could be carried out. In January 2025 – while work was still underway – the house flooded for a second time.

January 2025

Mark said: “We had just had a new white settee delivered to the house, ready to move back in.

“When it started raining, we drove over and we could see the water getting closer and closer to the house. There was nothing we could do. You can’t hold the water back. It came in so quickly. 

“The flood defences should’ve been fitted two months earlier, in November, but, because of manufacturing delays, they weren’t installed in time.”

Sharon added: “There are people who’ve lived in the village for 45 years who’d never seen anything like it. We were absolutely gutted. You don’t expect it to happen once – but twice…! It was our dream home; we’d spent so much time and money on it.”

In January 2025, the water came eight inches up the walls – two inches higher than the previous January.

Again, everything on the ground floor was ruined, including the freshly-laid floors, the new white settee, and the cooker and fridge that had survived the first flood. This time, the couple needed a whole new kitchen.

Sharon said: “We had to start from scratch all over again. It was horrendous and really quite emotional.”

In response, Mark and Sharon have acted decisively and installed £15,000 of flood defences. They were supported by a £5,000 Property Flood Resilience (PFR) repair grant from Leicestershire County Council towards the cost of a flood survey, flood door, flood barrier and flood resilient air bricks.  The rest came out of their own pocket.

Mark said: “I’d urge anyone who’s at risk of flooding to do what we did and install flood defences. When the village flooded in March this year, the defences we’d put in place did their job and kept the water out. 

“Before that, we were worried every time it started to rain. The flood defences have finally given us peace of mind – but it’s been a long and difficult process to get to this point.”

January 2026

Following increased flooding in the area, local residents have now set up their own Community Response Team covering Narborough and Littlethorpe. 

Mark and Sharon are members of the group, along with volunteer Flood Warden Dave Ovington-Creighton, who supported them during both floods.

Dave said: “Flooding seems to have got worse since 2024 so the community has come together to try to do something about it.

“As Flood Warden for the last 20 years, I’ve always had a lot of support from the local community but this is different – there are a lot more people getting on board and looking at ways to make a difference, support each other and reduce the risk of flooding.”

Find out how you and your community can 'Stand up to Flooding'.