Firefighters praised for flood effort

IT may not be within their remit but Hampshire’s firefighters have been working round the clock to help those battling against flood water.

The retained crews at Romsey fire station have been out during all hours, giving up their weekend to help with sandbags and inflatable booms, to the relief of residents.

Caroline Egg, who lives in Budds Lane, where crews helped to rebuild a wall which had collapsed under the pressure of the water, resulting in a wave of water bursting into their homes, said: “The firefighters here have been absolutely brilliant.

“Despite it not being their job, they have listened to what we needed and got on with it.”

Although this type of work is not their responsibility, the chief officer has pushed to get the crews out on the road, particularly with the early call to action for the Environmental Protection Unit.

The vehicle, packed with equipment to help with flooding, is new to Romsey and was meant to be rolled out in a couple of weeks, but with the destruction caused by flooding over the past few days, the decision was taken to start using it.

The 25 firefighters from Romsey have been on rotating shifts over the weekend.

Peter McClemont, crew manager, said: “We live in this community, so when people are in danger, where possible, we want to help.”

Crews from Winchester and Eastleigh have helped with filling hundreds of sandbags at Winchester’s Bar End depot and have helped to lay out sandbags to protect homes along Water Lane from the rising water of the River Itchen.