'Heroes' save animals after land 'sacrificed' in floods

When smallholder Joanna Johnson enactment a plea for assistance connected societal media, she had nary thought that truthful galore of her friends and neighbours from the Bedfordshire colony of Marston Moretaine would brave the upwind and rainfall to travel to her aid.

Following caller dense rainfall successful the area, she believed her onshore flooded owed to excess h2o from drainage pools adjacent to the broadside of the A421 that had been near submerged.

At the weekend, National Highways said 60 cardinal litres of h2o inactive needed to beryllium pumped out from the flooded road.

Ms Johnson said those who helped prevention her animals were the "heroes successful this".

"They were present passim the night, wading done h2o sometimes thorax heavy to aquatics my sheep, goats and ponies to safety. Hour aft hour," she said.

"I'm truthful grateful."

Ms Johnson explained the h2o deed her smallholding "like a tidal wave" aft the country was deed by atrocious upwind successful the past week.

"It came implicit the obstruction accelerated and wrong minutes the enclosure was engulfed," she continued.

"If I hadn't really been connected site, each of my animals would person drowned earlier I could person done anything."

Her onshore lies adjacent to the A421 astatine Marston Moretaine Interchange that remains nether water.

She believes National Highways "sacrificed" her onshore "for the involvement of the road".

The immense drainage pools connected the different broadside of her obstruction had go overgrown, with trees and shrubs increasing done the reeds, she says.

It is not imaginable to spot the pipes that are meant to disperse the h2o due to the fact that they are obscured by weeds.

After these pools overflowed and flooded the neighbouring onshore successful January, contractors were sent to find retired why.

They told section residents that immoderate of the pipes that instrumentality the h2o distant were truthful silted up they could not adjacent get a camera done to cheque them, and others had not been connected properly, truthful did not work.

Ms Johnson said she has asked the highways bureau to bash thing astir the issue.

"They knew determination were animals present but they didn't care," Ms Johnson added.

"They indispensable person known the measurement of h2o they were pumping disconnected and what it would do, and they did it anyway.

"I person mislaid everything. My animals survived, but without anyplace harmless to support them, the section assembly says I indispensable present re-home them."

Bedfordshire is not a region prone to flooding.

The Greensand Ridge passes done it, and astir of the section farms drain their onshore utilizing ponds systems.

Pat Davis has lived successful Marston Moretaine for 58 years.

Her location was 1 of astir 20 connected her thoroughfare that besides flooded recently.

"This has lone being happening since they built the dual carriageway," she said.

"I don't ever retrieve it flooding earlier then.

"It's present happening implicit and implicit again - doubly this year.

"And Highways England accidental they're lone liable for the spot adjacent to roadworthy itself."

This conception of the A421 is comparatively new, completed successful 2010.

It adjacent won the British Construction Industry Award successful 2011.

This flooded agelong was dug down nether an existing road, and built with its ain pumping presumption and drainage pools connected some sides to woody with immoderate excess water.

However this pumping presumption had flooded successful the dense rainfall and could not run starring to tankers being brought in.

In a statement, National Highways said: "We are not utilising an disposable National Highways balancing pond adjacent to Marston Moretaine for pumping, to guarantee we don't interaction section residents.

"All the areas we are moving h2o to person been cautiously considered, with proposal taken from the Environment Agency, and the section Internal Drainage Board, to guarantee we are not impacting section communities.

"These areas are each being intimately monitored, and pumping/tankering volition cease should these areas go incapable to safely clasp immoderate much water."

There is simply a tiny brook astatine 1 extremity of Ms Johnson's smallholding. It has been freshly dredged and h2o is gushing retired of a tube dug into the slope starring from 1 of the drainage pools.

You tin perceive the pumps operating conscionable metres distant connected the road.

The connection from National Highways was work to her.

"Looks similar pumping to me", she said successful response. "But what bash I know?"

At this infinitesimal she received different flood informing for her smallholding.

She laughed and added: "It hardly matters now, I've mislaid everything already. But astatine slightest my animals are safe."