“I’m in Disbelief”: Woman Shocked After Flooding Destroys Home and Sentimental Items

Catherine Fearnley, 48, has described the devastation she felt after waking up to unexpected flooding in her home in Ormskirk. Catherine, who moved into her rented house on Halsall Lane just five months ago, was left in “disbelief” after hearing noises downstairs at 5 am last Wednesday. What she discovered left her terrified.

“I thought someone was in the house. I went downstairs to see what was going on and as I got down the stairs I stepped in ice cold water. I freaked out and ran upstairs,” Catherine recalled.

Her home, along with at least 20 others in the Halsall Lane area, was one of many affected by severe flooding after heavy rainfall on New Year’s Eve caused nearby Sandy Brook and Hurlston Brook to burst their banks. Catherine described hearing a commotion outside, thinking it was people coming home from New Year’s parties, but soon realized the water was rising quickly, reported Liverpoolecho.

“I was terrified and in shock. I still feel shocked now and scared, I’m in disbelief,” she said. “I couldn’t register what was going on, it’s something you see on the news in other places not here, I just ran back upstairs I didn’t know what to do.”

The floodwaters, which came from beneath Catherine’s home, left five inches of water flooding the downstairs area, destroying her belongings. “I’ve lost all the things downstairs—furniture, TV, washing machine, everything has been wiped out downstairs, including some things that can’t be replaced,” she said, visibly upset.

Among the losses were two boxes of sentimental items, including memory boxes from her late father and boyfriend. “I lost my dad and my boyfriend and I had memory boxes from both of them and sentimental items that have been destroyed. We’re trying to dry the letters and photographs out to see what can be saved, it’s devastating.”

Catherine moved back to Ormskirk five months ago to be closer to her father after his death. “When he died after a while I just wanted to come back home to Ormskirk because that is where I was with my dad,” she explained. However, after the flood, she cannot bear the thought of returning to the property.

Catherine has been staying with friends since the flood and is now facing the challenge of finding new accommodation. “I’ve given my notice in at the house because I can’t face going back at all,” she said. “I’ve done it all up and had it all nice, now everything is in shatters.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to support Catherine in her time of need. You can donate here.