Pontypridd woman hailed as a hero for protecting neighbours during Storm Bert floods

A 60-year-old woman is being hailed a hero after raising the alarm in flood-ravaged Pontypridd.

Brave Caralyn Moreton, known locally as Mini, waded through knee-deep water in the pitch black and single-handedly secured 14 floodgates before banging on doors and windows to warn sleeping neighbours.

Her actions on Sunday as Storm Bert pummelled the south Wales town came as local anger rises at what they see as inaction by the authorities who they claim failed to warn them.

The dental technologist told The Mirror : “I secured as many gates as I could and then was banging the hell out of the houses and was shouting and screaming “move your cars, the river’s gone!

“I made sure all the gates were locked with the flood handles because normally NRW (Natural Resources Wales) would do that but they were nowhere to be seen so I knew I had to take action.

“The floodwater was rising all the time and was coming up to my knees but I was never scared, the adrenaline was pumping but I just had to get on with it.

“I’m just glad I could help but where were the authorities? They made all the right noises after Storm Dennis but look where we are now, right back to square one, something needs to be done, people are angry.”

Locals on Sion Street heaped praise on Caralyn as the continued the clean-up their sodden homes on Tuesday but they were also keen to voice their frustrations.

One of the worst affected was Paula Williams, 51, said: “A special shout out to Carlayn because if it wasn’t for her we’d have lost the lot.

“But people are angry, it’s over 48 hours later and as far as I know not one person from NRW has knocked on our doors.

“We thought Storm Dennis in 2020 would be a once in a generation event, and it was worse, it was a biblical event but the annoying thing for us is it seems like they haven’t learned any lessons.

“We keep hearing on the news that they have spent millions on flood defences and well, they may have, but they clearly don’t work.”

A spokesperson for Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has previously conceded that some people appeared to have received warnings only minutes before homes were flooded.

Sally Davies, a duty tactical manager at NRW, said a “very intense, localised area of rain” up to 160mm fell in the area on Sunday, and that the River Taff rose 300mm every 15 minutes at the height of the rainfall.

“But there is no silver bullet,” she said. “As a steep and fast-responding catchment, with much of the floodplain already built upon, reducing the flood risk is not at all straightforward.”

Meanwhile a man has been arrested after a tractor driver was seen driving through deep floodwaters in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, which led to damage to shops.

In a video shared on social media, a wave from the tractor’s wake was seen striking shops and homes overlooking the street, breaking some windows.

A 57-year-old was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and dangerous driving and released on bail while inquiries continue, police said.

His arrest came as Storm Bert continued to cause chaos across the UK with 132 flood warnings in place including “danger to life” fears.

While the last of the rain warnings from the Met Office ended at 11.59pm on Sunday, strong winds are set to continue and rain from high ground is expected to reach rivers, which could hamper clean-up efforts.

A severe “danger to life” warning also remained in place for the River Nene in Northamptonshire after a holiday park was submerged for the third time this year.

Residents at Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park, where a major incident has been declared, slept at an evacuation centre overnight on Monday.

Heavy rainfall and strong winds brought by Storm Bert over the weekend led to at least five deaths, while homes, roads and rail networks faced major disruption.

While the storm will continue to pull away towards Scandinavia on Tuesday,

showers are expected in south-east, south-west and north-west England, as well as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Environment Secretary Steve Reed said the impact of flooding “should be less severe”.

The Environment Agency (EA) states levels will be high because of heavy rainfall along the River Thames, particularly around New Hinksey, North Hinksey, South Hinksey and Grandpont in Oxford.

It is also expecting the risk of flooding along the River Cherwell, including in Lower Heyford and Kidlington.

A warning also remained in place for the River Kennet, between Theale and Reading.