Greenock families left homeless by floods fear for future

Mum-of-three Lorraine Mooney, 45, is one of the residents from Greenock's Kilmacolm Road left homeless by a deluge last month.

They had only just moved back in following repairs after previous flooding at the turn of the year.

During the latest ordeal, Lorraine could only look on in horror as water poured into the home she shares with her 16-year-old daughter and two older sons.

All six families on the affected stretch of the street are back living in hotels yet again.

The Cloch Housing Association tenants were flooded out last December and were left living in temporary accommodation for nearly 10 months.

They'd only got their keys back weeks before they had to abandon their homes once again.

Now they are calling for urgent action as Cloch bosses, Inverclyde Council officials and Scottish Water chiefs meet to decide what happens next.

Lorraine, who has lived in Kilmacolm Road for 11 years, said: "I'm overwhelmed by it all and sick to the stomach, I can't sleep. I am worried about my family and the impact it has had on them. My daughter Lauren is autistic, in fifth year and doing her exams. The upheaval and trauma is causing so much damage."

Lorraine moved in when the houses were new back in 2012.

She said: "We'd never had a problem in our houses before. I lost my car when it was ruined by the floods in February last year, then in December the water just seemed to keep coming and ended up in our house.

"My house is perfect for us and I don't want to lose it. We have already lost everything else with water damage.

"I don't know where we will end up, or what will happen to us if we can't go home.

"No one is giving us any answers."

Distraught Lorraine suffers from debilitating condition cervical stenosis which impacts her spinal cord and leaves her in pain and having to walk with an aid.

She and her oldest son Kieran, 24, who is autistic, and his sister Lauren, 16, are being put up in the Tontine Hotel along with other families from Kilmacolm Road.

She said: "My family is separated through all this as one of my sons, Nathan, who's 21, is living with extended family.

"We can't keep living in a hotel. My health has taken a nosedive."

One of her neighbours, 33-year-old Natalie Henry, had only just moved in to Kilmacolm Road with her 13-year-old son Stephen, who is severely disabled, weeks before the flood in October.

She is now in temporary housing as she waits to find out what happens next.

She said: "It was everything I had ever dreamed of for us, our forever home. Now we have lost everything and are starting from scratch. I'm devastated."

Another resident, Clare Gallagher, who has two daughters and is also in the Tontine, says she feels let down.

She said: "I am so angry, as we were given assurances the houses were okay to go back to.

"It is horrendous trying to live in a hotel, your life isn't your own with trying to go to work and get the girls to school.

"When we were put out last year at Christmas by floods, all the kids' presents were ruined.

"Now we are going to be left here at Christmas time again."

Cloch Housing have previously stated they are concerned that 'the current infrastructure can't cope with excessive wetter weather' being experienced more frequently.

They have called for more investment in flood prevention and increased routine maintenance of the current road drainage system.

A Scottish Water spokesperson said: “We have agreed to investigate how our assets performed during the recent storm event to better understand the root cause of the problem and whether the reservoir may play a part.

“It is important that all partners work collaboratively with the council as the local flood authority to come up with solutions.”

An Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “This is an issue we are acutely aware of and we understand the impact this is having on residents.

“There are a range of factors and partner agencies involved here and we are engaging with those agencies to see what can be done to resolve this issue.”