“I AM so glad to be back.” Those were the words of a Buckskin father who only returned back to his home weeks before the first anniversary of the flooding crisis that gripped the area.

Father-of-three Colin Davis was forced to evacuate his rented three-bedroom bungalow of 12 years in Prescelly Close last February when groundwater flooding surged through the Basingstoke suburb.

The 55-year-old, who is registered disabled following two road accidents in the 1980s, rushed to save his valuable possessions before he was relocated to a one-bedroom bungalow in Warwick Road, Winklebury, by Sovereign Housing Association.

Colin told The Gazette: “It is nice being back but it is still a struggle because I only moved back a couple of weeks ago. I am upset at what I have been through but it is fantastic to be back.

“I wanted to come back because of the community spirit here. Around here, everybody knows everyone. Because I am disabled, people around here offer me a hand when I need it. You don’t get that anywhere else.”

“The damage was very bad and the water was in every room. I lost a lot of possessions. It was a rush to pick everything up.”

But the 55-year-old is hopeful that the area will not flood to the extent it did last February.

He said: “They didn’t take action quick enough because it was building up and building up. I got told at 11.30pm on the Tuesday I was to be evacuated.

“I hope they have done enough to prevent it happening again. I am glad we are back but I just don’t want anything like this to happen again. I don’t think it will because if it gets that bad, they will
jump on it.”

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