“WE want answers”- that was the message from angry Buckskin residents who are dealing with the aftermath of the recent floods.

Around 60 local residents gathered at a meeting this morning held in Exmoor Close by Paul Bensilum.

The floods prompted the dad-of-one to stand for election to the borough council and he has been leading the campaign to get answers about the way the flooding was dealt with.

The crisis saw a total of 87 homes evacuated in Buckskin after February 8, when the properties were hit by groundwater flooding.

Mr Bensilum, 42, said that the mood of the residents was one of “dismay and anger”.

He said: “I have written to the council about many of our concerns and have received some answers.

“I appreciate the response that we have had, but there are still many more questions that have been left unanswered.

“This is just the beginning. People have been told that they will not be able to get back into their homes before March 2015- it is unbelievable.

“This has hit the community very hard and it feels as though now the water has gone, the support has also gone.”

At the meeting, held in Mr Bensilum’s front garden, residents were invited to make notes of the questions they want answered.

These will be collated and also put to the borough council.

Among those at the meeting were husband and wife Edward and Janice Cabanagh, who lived on Quantock Close before they were evacuated.

After spending seven weeks in a hotel, they have since moved to Cliddesden.

Janice said: “It is such a shame. Buckskin was our home for nine years- it is where our friends are and it is where we want to live.

“But the house has been so badly damaged that we have had to move.

“It has been awful- we had to fight to get our seven dogs put in a kennel while we were in the hotel.

“They have changed the locks on our old home so we haven’t even been able to get our post.

“We have had to uproot our whole lives.” For a full report on the Buckskin flooding meeting, see next Thursday’s Gazette.