Praise for groups who helped Bedfordshire communities caught in Storm Henk flooding

Community and voluntary groups have been praised by emergency services following flooding across the county.

Last week’s flooding impacted properties, roads and rail networks across Bedfordshire as Storm Henk hit the area.

The control rooms of 999 services experienced high call volumes, particularly on Thursday, and teams of emergency services, councils and voluntary groups came together to provide flood support to residents in Central Bedfordshire and Bedford.

Whilst there were no new incidents of flooded properties during the weekend, the response of voluntary and community flood groups through the BLEVEC partnership continued to support residents and businesses in some of the worst hit areas.

Bedfordshire Local Resilience Forum met throughout the incident. Group commander Lee Slipanczewski, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s duty officer and chair of the group, praised the response by the community and voluntary teams.

He said: “The Central Bedfordshire Community Emergency Response Teams, especially those in Blunham and Shefford, have done so much during the past few days for those in their communities.

"The community flood groups in Bedford have also played a massive role in helping the forum understand the local risk and support those impacted. Thank you to the hard work and diligence of the community flood groups in Turvey, Harrold, Odell, Clapham, Riseley, Yelden and Carlton.

“We would like to say thank you to BLEVEC as a whole partnership, which included response this time from Beds & Cambs 4X4 Response and Midshires Search and Rescue, which have been incredible in supporting the emergency response. Thank you to everyone who has supported the flood response and please continue to stay safe.”

Not everyone heeded advice to not drive through floodwater and police and fire service still received emergency calls at the weekend for reports of cars that had got stuck in flood water.

The Bedfordshire Local Resilience Forum is managed by Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service and is made up of partners including emergency response, local authorities, health, highway and environment agencies.

Go to Volunteering to help in emergencies | Central Bedfordshire Council to find out more about BLEVEC.