A woman in Trafford has had her home and salon ruined by severe flooding. Nikki Campion, 56, has been left devastated after her Urmston home and salon, Nikki & Co, has been hit by the severe New Year’s floods.
Nikki, who lives with her 61-year-old husband Matt, said that she feels let down by the Environment Agency after reporting several issues with the Old Eea Brook in the five years they have lived there.
She said: “I am devastated, absolutely devastated. We have lost everything, beds, furniture the lot, everything is ruined.
“We will have to start all over again somehow.”
Nikki and Matt in their damaged home
(Image: Nikki Campion)
Since the flooding yesterday, the couple have managed to clear the water with the help of around 20 other people, but have been left with a “devastating mess”.
Other houses in the community have been badly affected, with Nikki’s next door neighbour’s house still being submerged.
She said: “Yesterday morning we got the usual text that there was a flood alert but we get them all the time.
“At 8 o clock the house was surrounded by water, within an hour it came in the house and was rising and rising.”
Homes near the Old Eea Brook have been left devastated
(Image: Nikki Campion)
However, the grandmother of three is not surprised by the floods, saying that the brook was just a “danger waiting to happen”.
Nikki claims to have reported issues with the brook since they first moved there, stating that it is full of silt and needs to be cleaned but allegedly has seen “no action in three years”.
The view near Nikki’s home
(Image: Nikki Campion)
She said: “I just feel like the environmental agency has let us down massively.
“We’ve reported issues with the brook since we’ve lived here and have a log of all contact.
“[They] came out a few weeks ago but said there was not much they could do because it was such a mess.
“They have done nothing about it.”
Nikki has appealed on Facebook for help, asking people in the local community to assist in any way – from donating spare bin bags to dehumidifiers.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Environment Agency teams have been working around the clock over the New Year, operating flood defences, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding, issuing flood warnings and supporting those communities affected, including in Greater Manchester.
“More broadly, we are delivering a long-term funding programme of flood defences, investing over £1.25 billion this year to scale up national resilience through building new and improving existing flood defences.
“We know providing the nation with the best available information on flood risk is vital to ensuring that policy makers, practitioners and communities are ready to adapt to flooding.”