FLOODED residents in Buckskin were visited by a member of the European Parliament on Saturday.

Catherine Bearder, an MEP for the South East, talked to concerned residents who have been evacuated from their homes after she was invited to visit the area by flooded Exmoor Close resident, Paul Bensilum.

A total of 85 homes have now been evacuated from flood-hit Buckskin and 56 million litres of floodwater have been removed by tankers since the flooding began on February 8 – at a cost of more than £300,000 to the borough council.

The MEP has been told that the Government will not be applying for extra funds to help with the flood relief efforts from the European Union’s European Solidarity Fund.

The Government has a ten week window to apply for the EU funding from the date of the disaster and if successful, the EU will determine how much the Government receives.

Catherine Bearder MEP told The Gazette: “I am angry that the government isn’t applying for emergency flooding funding. I have had a tweet from the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs to say they will not be applying for it.”

“I was contacted by a local resident who was concerned about the water coming into the houses here in Buckskin. I have got a big constituency and everywhere has been flooded and I am trying to get around to see the damage.”

She added: “I really feel for them, it is heart-breaking and I can’t imagine what it is like. It must be horrible for them, without any date of knowing when they can get back into their homes.”