One dad received a phone call from his neighbour who warned him “the water’s coming up”
16:43, 02 Jan 2025Updated 16:50, 02 Jan 2025
Flooding in Haydock, St Helens
A dozen homes were submerged in floodwater after a brook “burst its banks” and flooded a local pumping station. Merseyside was battered by heavy rain on New Year’s Eve, with downpours continuing to the early hours of the morning, resulting in flooding, road closures and travel disruption.
Flooding was particularly bad in Haydock, St Helens, where a dozen homes at the junction of Blackbrook Road and West End Road were submerged in 6ft of filthy water after the Sankey Canal burst its banks. One resident Danny Pownall, 40, told The ECHO: “At 3am the neighbours rang us, screaming and shouting ‘the water’s coming up’.
“When I came downstairs I found it had come through the floors, through the sinks, through the toilets. The next thing we knew it came up through the grids outside.”
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United Utilities, which provides water and wastewater services in the North West, today said the local pumping station managing excess rainwater had failed due to the brook bursting its banks. A spokesman said: “A pumping station was flooded when the local brook burst its banks yesterday. This caused a power outage at the site. We have deployed a tanker to the area to manage our operations.”
They added: “Our systems were coping well until the brook burst its banks and flooded our site.” Pumping stations are intended to help prevent flooding by collect water during heavy rains and pumping it into rivers, lakes, or storage areas.
These stations usually help maintain public health and safety by preventing water shortages, sewage overflows, and flooding.
Much of the floodwater has now been drained from the Blackbrook Road and West End Road junction. A St Helens Council spokesman said: “Council officers were in attendance yesterday to assist partners, including emergency services.”
The Environment Agency, which maintains the brook, was approached for comment.