A POLICE chief has slammed locals who are refusing to leave the village of Whaley Bridge, where a damaged dam is at risk of collapsing. Derbyshire’s deputy chief constable Rachel Swann accused people in 22 properties of putting lives at risk as efforts continue to prevent the dam giving way. They were allowed to return […]
A POLICE chief has slammed locals who are refusing to leave the village of Whaley Bridge, where a damaged dam is at risk of collapsing.
Derbyshire’s deputy chief constable Rachel Swann accused people in 22 properties of putting lives at risk as efforts continue to prevent the dam giving way.
They were allowed to return to their homes for 15 minutes to collect vital items such as medicines and their pets but then failed to come back outside the cordon and are now refusing to leave again
Police today said residents will no longer be allowed to return to their homes.
“The threat to life remains very high in Whaley Bridge and the surrounding Goyt Valley area,” said Ms Swann.
Ms Swann criticised a “very small minority” of people who she said had failed to leave the area through the same road block as they entered when returning to pick up belongings.
“These people are putting the lives of officers at risk as further checks have to now be completed to ensure those residents are out of the area safely,” she said.
“The officers carrying out these checks are mothers, fathers, partners and friends.
“I want my officers to be able to return to their families at the end of their shifts – not be put in harm’s way.”
Earlier, emotional residents were told they’ll have just 70 seconds to escape if the dam bursts.
A further 55 homes have been evacuated as military and civilian teams battle to save the crumbling dam from collapsing.
The force tweeted: “The decision has today been taken to stop allowing evacuated residents back to their homes in Whaley Bridge. This is effective immediately.”
Meanwhile, police and soldiers in Manchester handed out leaflets yesterday in the Marple area of Stockport warning of further flooding and possible evacuations.
In Whaley Bridge, it’s feared the heavy rain will pour into the already bulging ToddBrook reservoir and burst the leaking dam wall.
Emergency service vehicles will sound their horns three times to warn them if the dam bursts. A louder, hailer siren will follow, police said.
Val Fallon, 74, who has lived in Whaley Bridge for 22 years, said she was allowed to return to her home to collect some belongings.
I would lose my shop and my house if it bursts. I’d lose everything. There is no point moving anything from the shop, I haven’t got enough time
Val Fallon
She moved in a rush to her daughter’s house in nearby Macclesfield without any clothes.
Her beloved Jack Russell has not eaten anything since the move, she said.
Val, who owns an antique shop, added: “I would lose my shop and my house if it bursts. I’d lose everything. There is no point moving anything from the shop, I haven’t got enough time.
“They get you so panicked, you can’t think of all the things you’d need to take. I just dropped everything and fled when they evacuated the village. It was such a rush.”
Deputy Chief Fire Officer of Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service Gavin Tomlinson said crews were working to get “ahead of the curve and remove as much water as possible” in order to “minimise the impact of any bad weather that does materialise”.
Speaking about the prospect of the evacuated people moving back in, he told BBC Breakfast: “At the rate we are pumping, we are hoping certainly towards the end of the week we be in a position to be able to do that.”
A Whaley Bridge resident said it’s “no surprise” part of the Toddbrook Reservoir dam collapsed after a series of images showing the structure in disrepair emerged.
The pictures were taken by the town homeowner, who wants to remain anonymous, in the weeks and months before last week’s devastating floods.
Hundreds of plants can be seen growing from the earth and creeping through the concrete spillway, which partially collapsed on Thursday.
One woman broke down in tears as she spoke to a police officer before she was allowed to go into her home.
Margot Graham said: “The police told us to run if we heard three horn blasts. It was a ghost town.”
Peter Drinkwater, 79, said he tried to bring out his lifelong coin collection but it was too heavy to carry.
Water levels at the reservoir have now been reduced by more than 11.5ft and pumps are continuing to remove water at a rate of around 10cm an hour, police said.
But the situation at the 180-year-old structure remains “critical” and the threat to life “very high”, the force has said.
It must drop 26ft before it can be declared safe.
Forecasters had warned of the potential for up to 40mm of rain to fall in just an hour or two on Sunday afternoon but the feared bad weather had not arrived by early evening.
An RAF Chinook and around 150 firefighters using high-volume pumps appear to have partly stabilised the reservoir’s spillway, with further pumps brought in by officials on Friday.
Pilots dropped more 400-tonne sandbags into the damaged wall as workers laid pipes to drain water from the 300-million gallon reservoir into the River Goyt.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to re-house families evacuated amid fears the damaged reservoir dam could collapse and flood the town.
He promised the reservoir would have a “major rebuild” as he met locals at nearby Chapel-en-le-Frith High School, which is being used as an evacuation centre.
Describing the damage to the dam as “pretty scary”, he said: “The plan is to try and stop the dam breaking, clearly. And so a huge amount of effort is going into that.”
Mr Johnson, who arrived by helicopter, said he thought they had to get the level of the water down about eight metres, although there was some discussion with the surrounding officials about whether this was the exact figure.
He added: “I was talking to one of the villagers from Whaley Bridge who said that he remembered something like this happening 50 years ago.
“We’ve had an exceptional weather event, we must make sure that this dam can cope with it in the future.
“That will mean a major rebuild, clearly.”
Those evacuated from their homes were allowed to return briefly last night to pick up any vital items or pets.
Around 1,000 people were evacuated from the town but most found their own accommodation with family and friends, according to Derbyshire County Council.
Police have closed railway lines in the Whaley Bridge area over the risk of potential flooding which is due to continue into the weekend.
The reservoir is on the north-west edge of the Peak District National Park and was built in 1831, according to experts, although the Environment Agency records it as being built in 1840-41.
According to a 2011 Environment Agency report on national dam incidents, Toddbrook “has a history of leakage”.
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