A FAMILY of four have been made homeless after torrential storms flooded their home.

Gareth Owen, Rachel Curry and their two children, Ellie-Mae, five, and three-year-old Ryan, were forced to spend the weekend in a hotel after the heavy downpours last weekend left them with up to three inches of water in their kitchen and ruined their bedrooms at their home in West Felton.

Water can be seen pouring in through the kitchen ceiling of their Sanctuary Housing Association property in footage shot during the storm by Miss Curry.

She said her immediate concern was for the children after a similar incident two years ago caused the ceiling of the kitchen to collapse.

“I was the only one at home,” Miss Curry told the Advertizer.

“I felt a drip on my arm as I walked up the stairs, you could see it was leaking.

“I looked into the kitchen and it was just pouring in through the ceiling. There was nothing I could do to stop it.

“The children were on their way back from their grandparents’ but I couldn’t let them come here, I had to keep them out.

“Now I’m worried because the damp in the house could lead to respiratory problems for them, which is why we can’t stay here.”

Miss Curry continued: “We had this problem two years ago and Sanctuary Housing Association - who own the property - fixed it, but with the storm last Saturday the roof just couldn’t take it.

“It has ruined our kitchen and it has ruined our children’s bedrooms. It has basically ruined all the carpets, there is so much damage. It has gone through all the electrics, we are going to have to have all the wiring replaced.

“And to make things worse, we can’t get insurance because it is a re-occurring problem.”

Fortunately, the family have been told by Sanctuary Housing Association that although the family will have to continue paying their rent, the company will cover their hotel expenses while repairs are made to the property.

The family also hope the company may help towards replacing some of the damaged items.

A spokesperson from Sanctuary Housing Association said: “We are very sorry that the family needed to be placed in temporary accommodation following recent exceptional rainfall.

“They are expected to be out of their home for one week, during which time we’ll be drying out the property and carrying out further inspections to the roof.

“We recognise that the family wish to relocate and we are doing everything we can to support them through their application process with the local authority.”