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| Chertsey Sausage flood barrier not to everyone's taste | Chertsey Sausage flood barrier not to everyone's taste |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The Chertsey Sausage stretched itself along Bridge road on Sunday afternoon, basking in the Surrey sunshine like an enormous, sated black anaconda. | The Chertsey Sausage stretched itself along Bridge road on Sunday afternoon, basking in the Surrey sunshine like an enormous, sated black anaconda. |
| Up and down its 600m-length paraded police officers, firefighters and the odd gawper intent on climbing on top of the AquaDam flood barrier to be photographed by a friend. They were joined by legions of dog owners displaced from their usual Thames-side walks by the river's rising waters who had decided to allow their pets to sniff around the gigantic, water-filled plastic tube and inspect the sad and sandbagged houses on either side. | Up and down its 600m-length paraded police officers, firefighters and the odd gawper intent on climbing on top of the AquaDam flood barrier to be photographed by a friend. They were joined by legions of dog owners displaced from their usual Thames-side walks by the river's rising waters who had decided to allow their pets to sniff around the gigantic, water-filled plastic tube and inspect the sad and sandbagged houses on either side. |
| The temporary dam, which was finally heaved into place by service personnel from the 2nd Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles and the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment on Saturday, has not been slow to acquire a nickname – or to become a celebrity in its own right. Less feted, but perhaps as important, are the smaller yellow tubes that run next to the sausage, pumping floodwater away from homes and back into the river. | The temporary dam, which was finally heaved into place by service personnel from the 2nd Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles and the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment on Saturday, has not been slow to acquire a nickname – or to become a celebrity in its own right. Less feted, but perhaps as important, are the smaller yellow tubes that run next to the sausage, pumping floodwater away from homes and back into the river. |
| "We're really happy with the Chertsey Sausage," said Clare Murchison, a 45-year-old HR manager who lives in a close off Bridge road. "The Manchester fire crews who brought the yellow pumps are saving the day." Although she was still trying to gauge the scale of the damage to her home – "I can hear the water under the floorboards and I can smell it" – Murchison was delighted that help had arrived and that people were pulling together. "I'm so proud to live in Chertsey because of the community spirit," she said. "When it happened, I thought, 'I can't be here any more', but it's brought out the best in most people." | "We're really happy with the Chertsey Sausage," said Clare Murchison, a 45-year-old HR manager who lives in a close off Bridge road. "The Manchester fire crews who brought the yellow pumps are saving the day." Although she was still trying to gauge the scale of the damage to her home – "I can hear the water under the floorboards and I can smell it" – Murchison was delighted that help had arrived and that people were pulling together. "I'm so proud to live in Chertsey because of the community spirit," she said. "When it happened, I thought, 'I can't be here any more', but it's brought out the best in most people." |
| Not everyone in the Surrey town, however, welcomes the dam. | Not everyone in the Surrey town, however, welcomes the dam. |
| Some of those who live on Bridge road are less concerned with the Chertsey Sausage's sudden fame than its effectiveness. The Environment Agency (EA), which brought in the £90,000 US-made dam, claims it will stop the floodwaters reaching a further 200 homes on the south side of the street. But for those who live on the other side of the road, and whose homes back on to the river, it is too little, too late. They feel their properties, which have already been flooded, are being abandoned to the waters and fear they could find themselves trapped. | |
| The EA said it put the dam on the road rather than behind the flooded houses as it provides a flat surface. | The EA said it put the dam on the road rather than behind the flooded houses as it provides a flat surface. |
| Hannah Rushe, whose ground floor was left under six inches of water last week, believes her home and those of her neighbours are being deliberately sacrificed to save a nearby fuel depot that supplies Heathrow airport. | Hannah Rushe, whose ground floor was left under six inches of water last week, believes her home and those of her neighbours are being deliberately sacrificed to save a nearby fuel depot that supplies Heathrow airport. |
| "An Environment Agency guy actually told me that [the dam] is there to save 200 other houses, but ... it doesn't make sense to save 200 houses – if it was for national importance, you could understand it." | "An Environment Agency guy actually told me that [the dam] is there to save 200 other houses, but ... it doesn't make sense to save 200 houses – if it was for national importance, you could understand it." |
| Rushe, 38, said the situation was giving her panic attacks and was stopping her sleeping. Worried by the prospect of being trapped by the dam if there are further floods, she has moved in with her mother. "If it does flood down here again, they won't even be able to get a boat through," she said. "All my neighbours are still here but I can't physically stay because I've got mould on all the walls. It's been horrendous and none of the politicians want to know." | Rushe, 38, said the situation was giving her panic attacks and was stopping her sleeping. Worried by the prospect of being trapped by the dam if there are further floods, she has moved in with her mother. "If it does flood down here again, they won't even be able to get a boat through," she said. "All my neighbours are still here but I can't physically stay because I've got mould on all the walls. It's been horrendous and none of the politicians want to know." |
| Almost as bad, she added, were the overflowing bins and attendant rodents. "My neighbours saw rats on their conservatory roof the other day, trying to keep dry. That's not a good environmental thing, is it?" | Almost as bad, she added, were the overflowing bins and attendant rodents. "My neighbours saw rats on their conservatory roof the other day, trying to keep dry. That's not a good environmental thing, is it?" |
| The EA denied priority was being given to the fuel depot or to a nearby water treatment plant, adding it was not true that some properties were being sacrificed in favour of others. A spokesman said the dam was in Chertsey to halt the waters before they could damage more houses on Bridge road. | The EA denied priority was being given to the fuel depot or to a nearby water treatment plant, adding it was not true that some properties were being sacrificed in favour of others. A spokesman said the dam was in Chertsey to halt the waters before they could damage more houses on Bridge road. |
| "We're expecting a peak in water levels on Tuesday and Wednesday, so it will be there until at least then," he said. | "We're expecting a peak in water levels on Tuesday and Wednesday, so it will be there until at least then," he said. |
| Despite the EA's assurances that the dam was unlikely to make things worse for those on the north side of Bridge road, Jonny Ritchie, a 23-year-old physiotherapist who lives with his parents next to Hannah Rushe, was sceptical. The army had done a good job of protecting people's homes with sandbags, he said, but the overall response has been "pretty poor". "Some people think the sausage is a PR stunt. It may look good on the news, but the sausage isn't doing anything." | Despite the EA's assurances that the dam was unlikely to make things worse for those on the north side of Bridge road, Jonny Ritchie, a 23-year-old physiotherapist who lives with his parents next to Hannah Rushe, was sceptical. The army had done a good job of protecting people's homes with sandbags, he said, but the overall response has been "pretty poor". "Some people think the sausage is a PR stunt. It may look good on the news, but the sausage isn't doing anything." |
| • This article was amended on 17 February, 2014. AquaDam is the trademark of the US-based company that manufactures the temporary dam used in Chertsey. | • This article was amended on 17 February, 2014. AquaDam is the trademark of the US-based company that manufactures the temporary dam used in Chertsey. |