0:00:02 > 0:00:05The British weather is a constant topic of conversation.
0:00:05 > 0:00:09Often unpredictable, it's now having a bigger effect on our lives.
0:00:09 > 0:00:15Dangerous floods threaten our homes, forest fires devastate our countryside
0:00:15 > 0:00:18and savage storms ravage our coastlines.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23Today, we find out what happens when Britain gets hit by freak weather.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30We see the stories of people's lives who have been turned upside-down by the totally unexpected.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39And we show you how to protect yourself, your home and your family from disaster.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42Welcome to Living Dangerously.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51We've all seen the terrible headlines of hurricanes,
0:00:51 > 0:00:52flooding and storm damage.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57But what's it really like when extreme weather wrecks your life?
0:00:57 > 0:01:01Well, today, we hear two incredible true stories.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07Coming up on Living Dangerously, a freak and intense hailstorm hits an east Devon town
0:01:07 > 0:01:10with startling consequences.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13I mean, this went on for hours, literally.
0:01:13 > 0:01:18And storms, by their nature, they come and go, but this one didn't.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22It came and stayed. It obviously liked Ottery.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24And it's a mighty battle against high winds,
0:01:24 > 0:01:29as lifeboat rescuers go to save a windsurfer from being dragged out to sea.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33It was quite difficult for us to approach him because of the breaking sea.
0:01:33 > 0:01:38If we put the boat side on to a breaking sea, there's a good chance it could capsize.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41With home video, actual footage and reconstruction,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44we show what happened during these real-life weather events.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Sheltered by rolling hills and set deep
0:01:53 > 0:01:58in the picturesque Otter Valley is the medieval town of Ottery St Mary.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02It's reputed to be the most historic town in east Devon,
0:02:02 > 0:02:08but it's not just these attractive qualities that make Ottery so popular with its residents.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Ottery is a special town.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12It's a good town. It's a friendly town.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16You're never a foreigner in Ottery.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21You're always a part of the people and it just is a super town.
0:02:23 > 0:02:2969-year-old, Barry Fearn, moved to Ottery seven years ago with his late wife, Audrey.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32They bought a three-bedroom, semi-detached town house
0:02:32 > 0:02:35on a brand-new estate that lies close to the River Otter.
0:02:35 > 0:02:41This is a new development here and, in that respect, you've got to build a community.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44It's not a community until you get together.
0:02:44 > 0:02:51And both my wife and I, we just got involved with the local community.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55And if you're going to come and live somewhere, you've got to be part of it.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58And, hopefully, it rubs off on some other people.
0:02:58 > 0:03:03Every year, Ottery's community spends weeks building a huge bonfire
0:03:03 > 0:03:08for its world-famous, November the 5th, Guy Fawkes celebrations.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15These include what's believed to be a 17th-century, pagan tradition
0:03:15 > 0:03:20that sees locals carrying flaming tar barrels through the town's medieval streets
0:03:20 > 0:03:22to ward off evil spirits.
0:03:30 > 0:03:36But late in October 2008, just days before they were due to light their huge bonfire,
0:03:36 > 0:03:41the town's folk were accosted by a thunderous hailstorm of biblical proportions.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Barry was one of the people worst affected,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49so I've come round to find out exactly what happened when Britain's extreme weather struck.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57- Barry.- Hello.- How are you? I'm Nadia. Can I come in?- Please do. - Thank you very much.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Barry, I'm going to take you back to the 30th October last year.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05- There was a massive storm here in the early hours of the morning. - That's correct.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08What did you think when it first started?
0:04:08 > 0:04:10It was very oppressive weather
0:04:10 > 0:04:17and in the early hours of the morning it broke. And it just went on and on and on.
0:04:17 > 0:04:23The hail came down and I thought, "This is one hell of a thunderstorm!"
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Which it was... the lightning, thunder.
0:04:27 > 0:04:34And having a conservatory with a polycarbonate roof, it was absolutely deafening.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38- A-huh. - I lived through the Blitz and it was certainly louder than the Blitz.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41- Really?- Seriously. It was absolutely horrendous.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44And this was because of the unusual amount of hailstones?
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Correct, correct. They were relatively small.
0:04:47 > 0:04:53They were sort of pea-sized, but they cleaned all the green off the roof beautifully
0:04:53 > 0:04:57and it was the only advantage we had out of the storm.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00The hailstorms began just after midnight.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05They were caused by an area of low pressure that had moved across south-west England.
0:05:05 > 0:05:11Along with the hail came torrential downpours, with an incredible 177mm of rain
0:05:11 > 0:05:16falling over the east Devon town in just a couple of hours.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24It went on for about two or three hours. It just went round and round.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29In Ottery, when you come here you come downhill from every part, you come downhill.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34So we're in a valley and you've the hills all round. It just went round and round the hills.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38And when you have a thunderstorm, most people count.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41You know, you count when the flash comes how long it is to the bang.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45And it never got more than three all the time.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47So it was just going round in circles all along the hills.
0:05:47 > 0:05:54The localised storm stayed put during the early hours, with hail falling down all the while
0:05:54 > 0:05:57and two feet of it settling down in the valley.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06That seems an incredibly long time. I'm thinking of all the times that I've ever been around hailstones.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08They only last a few minutes usually.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12That's correct, yes. I mean, this went on your hours, literally.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16And storms, by their nature, they come and go,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20but this one didn't. It came and stayed. It obviously liked Ottery.
0:06:22 > 0:06:28The storm that hit Ottery St Mary that night was of such magnitude that weather forecasters would
0:06:28 > 0:06:31only expect it to happen once every 200 years.
0:06:33 > 0:06:38In the morning, Ottery awoke to find itself in a deep bed of hailstones.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43It even caught the Environment Agency by surprise.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45This was a very unusual event.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48You can imagine the scenes the following morning.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52It was like a snow storm. There's four, five foot drifts of hail,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54which, if you saw them on television, you'd think was snow,
0:06:54 > 0:06:58but, in fact, was these tiny little balls of ice, which had fallen down,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02and were quite solid in places. Buried cars, blocked-up gullies,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04even blocked-off roads, so people couldn't get in.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07And it was all very localised over a very small area.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09It was almost a scene of devastation.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13The tiny hailstones fused together to create drifts reaching as high
0:07:13 > 0:07:19as six feet and, across town, cars and people were getting trapped in the icy concrete.
0:07:19 > 0:07:26The hailstones were piled really high and they looked like all the little bits out of a tapioca pudding.
0:07:26 > 0:07:31They were little round things that were just made into piles and piles.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35And it was pretty horrendous.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40It was also marginally beautiful, because snow is pretty, isn't it?
0:07:40 > 0:07:41But not when it's in your house.
0:07:42 > 0:07:47Coming up later on Living Dangerously, the freak hail and thunderstorm over Ottery
0:07:47 > 0:07:51causes flash floods to take over the town,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53and Barry faces an almighty battle.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58I was sitting on the stairs outside there hoping the water would stop coming up any further.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02I was doing my King Canute and I was equally as good as King Canute,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05cos I didn't stop the water.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13On the southern edge of the Snowdonia National Park
0:08:13 > 0:08:16lies the quaint, Welsh harbour village of Aberdovey.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19It attracts thousands of holidaymakers each year,
0:08:19 > 0:08:24who come to enjoy its four miles of award-winning sandy beaches and mild micro-climate.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29But it's not just milder weather and golden sands that bring visitors.
0:08:29 > 0:08:36The old fishing port is set on the estuary of the River Dovey, the perfect spot for water sports.
0:08:36 > 0:08:42One enthusiast is Kirk Fresle, who travels 90 miles from Herefordshire
0:08:42 > 0:08:46every couple of months to indulge in his passion for windsurfing.
0:08:46 > 0:08:54A guy I used to play squash with, he was moving, so he gave me some old windsurfing equipment.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56And I got on it and I thought, "This is good stuff."
0:08:56 > 0:08:59I enjoyed it and I've taken it on from there.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02That was about seven years ago, so...
0:09:02 > 0:09:07The trouble is, living in Bromyard, I'm quite a long way from the sea,
0:09:07 > 0:09:14so I don't go as much as I'd really like to and hence the skills aren't as honed as they should be.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17Aberdovey is a popular summer destination,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20but because of its prevailing south-west winds,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23kite and windsurfers come here all year round.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28The mouth of the Dovey estuary protects its waters from the worst excesses of the weather
0:09:28 > 0:09:35out in the Irish Sea, making it the ideal playing ground for these water sports.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37But it's not always guaranteed.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41If the weather turns and the strong winds combine with an outgoing high tide,
0:09:41 > 0:09:48the waters of the estuary that covers 11 square km can get churned up and become a maelstrom.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51But this was far from the mind of Kirk when he saw
0:09:51 > 0:09:56ideal weather conditions for windsurfing coming up.
0:09:56 > 0:10:01Like all windsurfers, you tend to study the BBC weather forecast.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07And I saw that Wednesday the wind was going to pick up.
0:10:07 > 0:10:13OK, it was going to be rainy, so it would be a little bit gusty, but I checked the tides.
0:10:13 > 0:10:18It would be high water at Aberdovey, so that gives you generally flat water
0:10:18 > 0:10:21in the estuary and you've got the whole estuary to play in.
0:10:21 > 0:10:29And, of course, you've got the RNLI station there as well, which I didn't think I'd need!
0:10:29 > 0:10:34So on May 27th, 2008, Kirk left his hometown of Bromyard
0:10:34 > 0:10:38in Herefordshire first thing and drove three hours to Aberdovey.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43He arrived just before 11:00, only to be bitterly disappointed.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45When I got there it was bucketing down with rain.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49I thought, "Do I really want to go out in this?
0:10:49 > 0:10:53And, "Erm, it's raining so hard, what else am I going to do?
0:10:53 > 0:10:58"The mountain bike's in the back, but that's not very good when it's raining so hard."
0:10:58 > 0:11:02So I sat there a while, had a cup of tea and then the weather improved.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05So I thought, "Now's the time to go."
0:11:05 > 0:11:12The rain was slowly stopping and the wind was starting to pick up when Kirk got on his windsurf at 11:30am.
0:11:12 > 0:11:18He was enjoying the fast-moving currents of six knots and winds of 7mph in the estuary
0:11:18 > 0:11:23when he caught the attention of Dave Williams, who heads up the local RNLI station.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29I was on a day off that day and I came to the station
0:11:29 > 0:11:31to check emails and this sort of thing.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33I noticed there was a windsurfer out there
0:11:33 > 0:11:35and thought, "Ah well, fair enough.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38"He's obviously enjoying himself. Good stuff." I left here.
0:11:38 > 0:11:42I was planning on playing golf but the weather was so bad, I thought, "There's no point
0:11:42 > 0:11:46"in going out and getting wet and losing lots of golf balls." So I decided to come back.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Had a look for the windsurfer, just out of interest, as you do, and couldn't spot him anywhere.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56Thought, "Ah, I'll keep an eye open for a few minutes and just see what happens."
0:11:57 > 0:11:59But things turned ugly for Kirk.
0:11:59 > 0:12:04He'd been in the estuary for 45 minutes when conditions suddenly changed.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07He was now grappling to keep control of his windsurf.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11By this time the tide had turned and was now starting to go out,
0:12:11 > 0:12:15so I was struggling a little bit to stay in the estuary.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18The waves were starting to get bigger and bigger.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22And at that point, right in the middle of estuary, he came off the board.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26The wind had increased to 20mph and was battling against
0:12:26 > 0:12:30the high spring tide to create two-metre high waves.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Kirk made several attempts to lift his windsurf sail,
0:12:33 > 0:12:37but it had become incredibly heavy after being weighed down with water.
0:12:37 > 0:12:43He was also struggling against the fast-moving tide and high winds, zapping him of all his energy
0:12:43 > 0:12:47and leaving him no alternative but to drift on his board.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52He tried on about five or six occasions and failed every time
0:12:52 > 0:12:54because of the wind and the wave action,
0:12:54 > 0:12:58couldn't get back on the board. I thought, "Well, he won't get back on the board now
0:12:58 > 0:13:00"and the next place he's heading for is Ireland."
0:13:00 > 0:13:03So I thought we'd better do something about it.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08So I straightaway went upstairs into the lifeboat station, set off our pagers to call the crew here
0:13:08 > 0:13:11and the crew were here in three, four minutes, getting changed.
0:13:13 > 0:13:19The Aberdovey Lifeboat Station is one of 235 RNLI rescue stations across the UK and Ireland.
0:13:19 > 0:13:26It's been saving lives for nearly 140 years, getting called out, on average, once a fortnight.
0:13:28 > 0:13:34Firefighter Robin Goodlad was one of the local volunteers scrambled to save Kirk.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37The first thing we knew, obviously, the pagers went off.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41We're all volunteers in the village and we've got our own little pagers.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44We just drop whatever we're doing, work or anything like that,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47and come down to the station and respond.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52Ten minutes after Kirk first got into trouble, the crew launched their boat.
0:13:52 > 0:13:59It was 12:35pm and, by now, Kirk had been pulled even closer to the estuary mouth by the outgoing tide.
0:13:59 > 0:14:05Conditions there were at force six, which meant four-metre swells and winds of up to 30mph.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09We managed to get to breaking surf, which was causing him problems.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14He wasn't able to restart then, so we needed to get down there pretty quickly and get him.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20Kirk had almost reached the Aberdovey bar, where the estuary meets the sea
0:14:20 > 0:14:24and silt deposits have raised a section of the seabed.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27It really does start to jack the waves up.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30The wind's in the opposite direction holding those waves up,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34so whilst I might have been in two-metre waves earlier
0:14:34 > 0:14:40and I was struggling a little bit, suddenly now I'm in a four-metre breaking swell.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45I'm thinking, "This is not a very good place to be at all!"
0:14:45 > 0:14:49It's like going through a washing machine at that stage.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52The rough conditions in the estuary were going to make it
0:14:52 > 0:14:56challenging for the lifeboat rescuers to get to Kirk, too.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01You've got the estuary here, which holds quite a lot of water,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04but the opening to the estuary's quite small,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08so every time the tide ebbs out, there's a lot of water that has to get through a really small gap.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11So it speeds up to about six or seven knots.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15When you've got the wind going in the other direction about 30 knots,
0:15:15 > 0:15:18you get quite nasty standing waves, which is not a very nice place.
0:15:20 > 0:15:26Totally unaware that help was on its way, Kirk was beginning to feel the effects of his struggle.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29He was immersed in water of just 14 degrees centigrade,
0:15:29 > 0:15:33well below body temperature, and was in danger of suffering from hypothermia.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37He was also physically exhausted, which put him at risk from drowning.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44What's more, he was still heading straight for the Irish Sea.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49The sail was just getting ripped right out of my hands.
0:15:49 > 0:15:55So at that stage I'm thinking, "Just sit on the board, figure out what my options are.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57"Best thing to do here."
0:15:57 > 0:15:59Coming up later on Living Dangerously,
0:15:59 > 0:16:04the force six high winds put the RNLI rescuers' own lives at risk
0:16:04 > 0:16:08as they go to save Kirk, who's getting ever closer to the open sea.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12It was quite difficult for us to approach him because of the breaking sea.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15If we put the boat side on to a breaking sea, it could capsize.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24In the early hours of October 30th, 2008,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26the east Devon town of Ottery St Mary
0:16:26 > 0:16:29was assaulted by a freak thunder storm.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32For three hours, the storm raged over the medieval town
0:16:32 > 0:16:36and an incredible 177mm of rain fell,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40one of the highest levels ever recorded in Britain.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45But as the thunderstorm calmed, the floods began.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52Huge drifts of hailstones, reaching as high as six feet in places,
0:16:52 > 0:16:58compacted to block storm drains and culverts, so surface rain water had nowhere to go.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05Flood defences held around the River Otter that runs through the town,
0:17:05 > 0:17:10but streams and brooks broke their banks after becoming swollen with the intense rainfall.
0:17:12 > 0:17:17One of the people caught up in this savage flash flood was pensioner Barry Fearn.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20I went to bed actually and then I was woken up
0:17:20 > 0:17:24by my next-door neighbour Rita, who said, "Barry, we're flooding."
0:17:24 > 0:17:27And I came down to see the water and everything
0:17:27 > 0:17:31coming down our road outside and then into the garage
0:17:31 > 0:17:36and then over the garage into the hall, through the front door, out the back door into the garden.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41I was sitting on the stairs outside there hoping the water would stop coming up any further.
0:17:41 > 0:17:48I was doing my King Canute and I was equally as good as King Canute, cos I didn't stop the water.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54The flood was crushing for Barry.
0:17:54 > 0:18:00He was helpless, as his kitchen and the rest of the ground floor was taken over by two feet of water.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Were you at any point panicked or frightened?
0:18:05 > 0:18:07No, you can't... Not panicked.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12I mean, you just thought, "What the flipping hell's happening here?" You know.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15There's not much you can do. It's an act of God.
0:18:15 > 0:18:21It's nature showing itself and you just have to go with it.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23An Ottery resident got up during the night
0:18:23 > 0:18:26to capture what was happening outside his front door.
0:18:26 > 0:18:33There was torrential rain with ice, sleet and lots of thunder and lightning.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36My front garden is just a pool of water.
0:18:39 > 0:18:45The freak weather that hit Ottery St Mary was completely unprecedented.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48I can imagine a very intense, very localised storm
0:18:48 > 0:18:52came up the Otter Valley, hovered over the town of Ottery St Mary.
0:18:52 > 0:18:57We had seven inches, 177mm, in three hours,
0:18:57 > 0:18:59which, according to the Met Office,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02is one of the highest recorded totals they've ever had in the country.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06So there is all this rain falling in a very small place,
0:19:06 > 0:19:08all coming down to the bottom of the valley,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11and across east Devon maybe 250 houses flooded,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14particularly badly in places like Ottery and Whimple,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18where, without much warning, suddenly floodwaters were up
0:19:18 > 0:19:20at the same time as you had this hailstorm going on around
0:19:20 > 0:19:22and a big thunderstorm at the same time.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26What we've got here is a radar image of the actual storm.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28You can see it covered a large part of Devon,
0:19:28 > 0:19:30from the north coast to the south coast,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33but the very intense colours of the pink and the white and the red
0:19:33 > 0:19:36are centred over east Devon and Ottery St Mary.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40These are the very intense parts of the storm, where most of the rain fell.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44As I said, 177mm in three hours.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47And it took everyone by surprise, not least Barry.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50His house is set close to the River Otter on a flood plain.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55Developers put in flood defences when his estate was built nine years ago,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59but no-one could have predicted such an extraordinary weather event.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Barry tried in vain to save what he could from the freezing water
0:20:03 > 0:20:07by moving it upstairs, but in the end he had to concede defeat.
0:20:09 > 0:20:15It came up just below my knee and my feet and my legs were bright red
0:20:15 > 0:20:21with a line round them where the water had stopped. Literally, they were bright red.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25They were like a lobster, except it was the freezing not the hot.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29So from when the water first started to come through the door,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32how long would you say, roughly, it was before it was up to your knees?
0:20:32 > 0:20:36- Erm, I suppose about three-quarters of an hour.- Really? Wow.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Yes, it happened relatively quickly.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42- Quite shocking then? - Yeah, yeah. It was. It wasn't good.
0:20:42 > 0:20:47It was one of the parts of my life I'd happily forget.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Yes, I bet. And what kind of damage did it do?
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Well, the whole of the bottom area was wrecked, basically.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56And I think that...
0:20:56 > 0:20:59- What, in that you lost everything? - Yes, everything.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02Everything here you see is new, from the waist up, the walls.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06The flash floods ravaged Ottery St Mary.
0:21:06 > 0:21:12The emergency services got 150 calls and 30 people had to be evacuated from their homes.
0:21:12 > 0:21:19100 properties were flooded in total, with water levels reaching four feet in places.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23But it wasn't just homes that were overrun by the flood.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Businesses were affected, too.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29While Barry was battling against rising water in his home,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32up the road one of Ottery's oldest land marks,
0:21:32 > 0:21:37the Tumbling Weir Hotel, was succumbing to the exceptional storm,
0:21:37 > 0:21:41with its famous weir being transformed into a cascading whirlpool.
0:21:41 > 0:21:47Meanwhile in the hotel, guests were horrified when they saw water gushing in.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50One of them came down and knocked on the door
0:21:50 > 0:21:52and it was only from that moment on
0:21:52 > 0:21:59we actually realised how much damage was happening in the hotel.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03The hailstones had compacted on top of the thatched roof of
0:22:03 > 0:22:08the 17th-century property and blocked the gutters, causing havoc.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12The whole roof was covered in ice and you couldn't put anything...
0:22:12 > 0:22:16Well, there was no way of gripping the sloped roof to get up into the valley.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Also there was lightning all around and it's not a good idea
0:22:20 > 0:22:25to be climbing up an aluminium ladder when there's lightning.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28And the lightning was very localised.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32Also the hailstorm just seemed to sit over Ottery St Mary and not actually
0:22:32 > 0:22:36move up the valley and I think that was probably a lot of the problems.
0:22:36 > 0:22:37It just sat over us.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40For three and a half hours, Paul and his wife, Lynn,
0:22:40 > 0:22:46desperately tried to contain the water pouring into their hotel, but they were fighting a losing battle.
0:22:46 > 0:22:51So the first bit of rain water we saw was from this beam all the way down
0:22:51 > 0:22:54the passageway and it was coming down this internal wall.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Three guest rooms were flooded and made uninhabitable.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05This is bedroom seven. It was actually pouring through here, so it was absolutely
0:23:05 > 0:23:10saturated, so we actually couldn't save any of this at all and it all had to be skipped and thrown out.
0:23:10 > 0:23:16And we had to rip down the whole ceiling and re-insulate it and do all the electrics.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20But the most extensive damage was downstairs.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23From that pillar to the pillar
0:23:23 > 0:23:26where I came through the doors, the water was pouring down.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31From seeing that, I then rushed into the kitchen, got every single roasting pan we had
0:23:31 > 0:23:35and tried to put them between the pillars to catch as much water as I could.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37But, unfortunately,
0:23:37 > 0:23:41we didn't catch enough of it and all the dance floor
0:23:41 > 0:23:45had to be replaced as well as the bar and the carpet and everything.
0:23:47 > 0:23:53Thankfully, there were no casualties and guests were moved to rooms unaffected by the flood.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56But the hotel had to shut for a month while repairs
0:23:56 > 0:24:02and refurbishments were done, costing insurers £90,000.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08The extent of the floods that had taken over Ottery St Mary was astounding.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Water inundated roads and houses, and the huge bonfire the townsfolk
0:24:12 > 0:24:18had prepared for their famous Guy Fawkes celebrations was now surrounded by a soupy mess.
0:24:20 > 0:24:27Seeing this historic town in such a state was heartbreaking for Ottery's mayor, Glyn Dobson.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31Glyn, what was your experience of the flood back in October 2008?
0:24:31 > 0:24:35It was an absolute disaster. I mean, hail was all over the road.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40People were in shock. In places it was three or four feet.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42People's houses were flooded.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45What was it like? Was everybody out helping each other?
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Yeah, they were. As I said, people were in shock. They were out.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51They were trying to remove stuff from the houses, so they could move about.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53Water was in their houses.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57Some of them couldn't even get in the door because it was blocked by hailstones.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01And we actually washed one of the cars off that they wanted to move off the drive
0:25:01 > 0:25:07and I opened up the car door so the person could get in there, and water just flooded out of the car.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10You're talking, I think, well over 200 cars that were destroyed.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13- Had you ever seen anything like it?- Never.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Sounds almost biblical, these hailstones, doesn't it?
0:25:16 > 0:25:17I hope I never have to see it again.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Yeah, yeah.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22- My heart went out to the people down there.- Yeah.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25Presumably, there's nothing people can do to prepare
0:25:25 > 0:25:28for something like that because it was just such a freak storm.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30You will never prepare for something like that.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35We can do all we want to do for floodwater and that, but this hailstorm was completely different.
0:25:37 > 0:25:44The hail and thunderstorm that hit Ottery St Mary cost insurers more than £1 million in damages.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49But when the elements contrive to create freak weather like this,
0:25:49 > 0:25:53there's virtually nothing that can be done to mitigate its effects.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56One of the things this flood brought home to me was that
0:25:56 > 0:25:59you can never completely remove the risk of flooding.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03We have got schemes in place, which is where we build defences like walls
0:26:03 > 0:26:06to stop the river getting out of the bank and flooding people's homes.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09And that largely worked in lots of places.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13But in Ottery St Mary, the River Otter was kept within the flood defence scheme,
0:26:13 > 0:26:16it didn't flood over the banks and flood anyone,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18but a lot of people were flooded from other streams.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Severe flash flooding running straight off the land, straight into people's homes.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25So the risk of flooding remains, even if a flood defence scheme
0:26:25 > 0:26:27has been built and you've got a barrier around.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31You've still got to be ready and aware and be prepared.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35And it was Barry's estate that came off especially badly.
0:26:35 > 0:26:41Some people who lived around were actually quite scathing, saying, "It serves them right down there.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45"They knew they were buying a property on a flood plain. Now it's flooded."
0:26:45 > 0:26:50But the fact remains that there is a defence mechanism that's been put in
0:26:50 > 0:26:54prior to building and that was why they had permission to build.
0:26:54 > 0:27:00They raised the land here and that held.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03The water flooded the field, but it did hold and it wasn't that.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15So, Barry, this here is what the Environmental Agency built, yeah?
0:27:15 > 0:27:18- Correct.- Tell me how it looked here the day of the flood.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23Well, the day of the floods, the posts over there, the water had come up above that level.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27And that was the highest it's ever come since I've been here in seven years.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29But this held.
0:27:29 > 0:27:36This was built with 100-year protection, allegedly.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38- Hopefully!- Hopefully.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41I can't actually see the river. Where is the river, Barry?
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Well, actually, the river... It's low at the moment.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45But you see the line of trees across there?
0:27:45 > 0:27:52- OK.- The river runs down there through and then out the other side of Ottery under St Saviour's Bridge.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56- But actually it wasn't the river that caused the problem, was it? - No.- What was it?
0:27:56 > 0:27:59It was the brook, our beautiful, little brook.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01- Can we go and see that?- We can.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06OK, so here is the brook that did the damage, really.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08- Correct.- What happened?
0:28:08 > 0:28:12Basically, it filled up. As you can see, it's not a very big waterway...
0:28:12 > 0:28:14It's a dribble really, isn't it?
0:28:14 > 0:28:16It filled up and overflowed,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20cos it wasn't meant to take the amount of
0:28:20 > 0:28:22hail that came down.
0:28:22 > 0:28:23And how high did the water come up?
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Well, it came up so it came completely over here and it was...
0:28:26 > 0:28:31Well, in the houses, it was about 13 inches deep.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Really?
0:28:35 > 0:28:42Coming up on Living Dangerously, we tell you how to protect yourself and your belongings from flash flooding.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48One thing that always upsets me the most if I go round somebody's home that's flooded is,
0:28:48 > 0:28:51you see irreplaceable things that have been lost...
0:28:51 > 0:28:54photographs, wedding videos.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Know where they are and get them somewhere safe.
0:29:01 > 0:29:07On May 27th, 2008, the normally calm waters of the Dovey estuary
0:29:07 > 0:29:14in North Wales had got churned up by strong winds battling against an outgoing, high, spring tide.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Windsurfer Kirk Fresle was caught out
0:29:17 > 0:29:19by the sudden change in conditions.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23He'd fallen off his windsurf and was holding on for dear life,
0:29:23 > 0:29:28as he was being dragged by the tide towards the mouth of the estuary and the open Irish Sea.
0:29:28 > 0:29:36The RNLI had scrambled a lifeboat, but an exhausted Kirk had no idea that help was on its way.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39He'd been immersed in icy cold waters
0:29:39 > 0:29:43and was at a real risk from succumbing to hypothermia or drowning.
0:29:43 > 0:29:46Every second counted.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50What was going through my mind at that time is, "Don't panic!
0:29:50 > 0:29:53"You'll look back on this and have a laugh!
0:29:53 > 0:29:56"Hopefully...!
0:29:56 > 0:29:58"But you've got to make a decision now,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01"cos you don't know whether it's going to get worse out there.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03"The wind speed might pick up even higher.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05"Waves might get even higher."
0:30:05 > 0:30:11The best option was to just ditch the sail and paddle back on the board.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14But this was going to be near impossible.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17With the high spring tide travelling out of the estuary
0:30:17 > 0:30:22at a rate of six to seven knots, which is too fast for anyone to swim against,
0:30:22 > 0:30:24Kirk was facing a losing battle.
0:30:24 > 0:30:29The weather, in terms of wind and so on, was fairly consistent, but the thing that had changed
0:30:29 > 0:30:32was the fact that the big, spring tide and, of course,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35the water was now pushing out against the wind.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38And, of course, anything that was a big wave before
0:30:38 > 0:30:41is going to be even bigger and also breaking as well.
0:30:41 > 0:30:46And so the surf conditions were getting worse and worse, because of the tide, not because of the wind.
0:30:46 > 0:30:52By now, Kirk was at the mouth of the estuary, where huge waves were reaching some four metres.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56This meant that not only was Kirk in serious danger, but so was the lifeboat.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58It was quite difficult for us
0:30:58 > 0:31:01to approach him because of the breaking sea.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03If we put the boat side on to a breaking sea,
0:31:03 > 0:31:05there's a good chance it could capsize.
0:31:06 > 0:31:11So once we'd spotted him, we had to wave to him, to let him know we were turning down sea.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17And then turning round, taking the wave head on.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20That's actually the safest way to approach a breaking wave.
0:31:22 > 0:31:30I'm just about to release, ditch the sail. I hear an engine note.
0:31:31 > 0:31:38So when I got on the top of the next wave, I had a quick scan around the horizon.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40And I could see a boat!
0:31:41 > 0:31:43Fantastic!
0:31:43 > 0:31:45There is a God!
0:31:46 > 0:31:52When I came up the next wave, they were coming past me and they said,
0:31:52 > 0:31:55"OK, we won't be able to get your rigging.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59"When we come alongside you, make it quick, make it snappy, get on board!"
0:32:09 > 0:32:11And they put their hand out.
0:32:11 > 0:32:15I grabbed it and they dumped me, pretty unceremoniously,
0:32:15 > 0:32:18into the bottom of the boat, for which I was very grateful.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32Despite Kirk's windsurf being worth over £1,000, he had no qualms about
0:32:32 > 0:32:36abandoning it to the waves and saving his own skin.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40When we got there, he was quite cold, but he was OK.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43I think he was very relieved to see us
0:32:43 > 0:32:47and, obviously, we managed to get him in quite quickly and he was very relieved.
0:32:47 > 0:32:48I was glad to be in the boat.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52They were very reassuring. "You're safe now. There's nothing to worry about.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55"We're just going to take you back to the station."
0:32:55 > 0:32:59So, again, they expertly turned the boat around
0:32:59 > 0:33:01in those conditions.
0:33:01 > 0:33:07We only went maybe for 600 yards
0:33:07 > 0:33:11and suddenly you're out of that position in the estuary mouth,
0:33:11 > 0:33:14where the waves are being created, jacked up by the bar,
0:33:14 > 0:33:17and you're back into flat water.
0:33:17 > 0:33:22You think, "Look at this, I'm just so close to being in ideal conditions!"
0:33:22 > 0:33:29And yet just 600 yards out to sea it's much, much rougher.
0:33:29 > 0:33:34But had it not been for the heavy rain stopping Dave Williams from his game of golf,
0:33:34 > 0:33:37he wouldn't have even been at the lifeboat station
0:33:37 > 0:33:42to spot Kirk in such trouble and things could have turned out so differently.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46It's really difficult to see people cos of the troughs of the waves.
0:33:46 > 0:33:51If you've got a couple of metres of surf and you're below that, it's very difficult to be spotted.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56So in conditions where there's nobody on the beach, you'd be very lucky if somebody did spot you.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59And it's just fortunate on this day that there was somebody there who
0:33:59 > 0:34:02spotted him in that position and was able to call it in.
0:34:02 > 0:34:09He'd made absolutely the right call and got the boys in and got the boat out.
0:34:09 > 0:34:14He knew before I did I was going to be in a tricky situation.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17Kirk had a very close call.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21He was checked over by his rescuers and given the all-clear.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24But he'd lost his expensive windsurf equipment,
0:34:24 > 0:34:27so he decided to hang around Aberdovey and wait for
0:34:27 > 0:34:31the tide to change to see whether it brought back his precious rig.
0:34:31 > 0:34:36I'd got my mountain bike in the back of the car. So, with a cup of tea...
0:34:36 > 0:34:38I had got a little bit cold.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40Just a little bit of shock.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43I thought, "The mountain biking will warm me up, actually."
0:34:43 > 0:34:45"Maybe even calm me down a little bit."
0:34:47 > 0:34:54So Kirk headed off to a local mountain bike track to de-stress after his traumatic ordeal.
0:34:54 > 0:34:59And then he got a piece of news he was hoping for, but it was even better than he expected.
0:34:59 > 0:35:06As it turned out, there was a kite-surfing school at Aberdovey and it was the instructor there
0:35:06 > 0:35:13that noticed the board being washed up on the beach three or four hours later with no sailor attached to it.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17Perfectly intact, no damage at all.
0:35:17 > 0:35:22It wasn't actually too far away from where I'd abandoned it.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25Water sports like windsurfing do carry an element of risk,
0:35:25 > 0:35:31especially when you're in the sea dealing with high winds and strong tides and currents.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35But there are some basic things you can do to minimise the danger.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37Local knowledge is so important.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39If you don't know yourself, ask local people.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42Go to the harbour master. Ask local coastguards.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46Find out what's happening. Get some advice before you commit yourself.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48Letting people know where you're going.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52Possibly having somebody on the beach keeping observation on you.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56I mean, it was just pure luck maybe that I saw the chap on that day.
0:35:56 > 0:36:03There are high visibility flags you can actually have in your life jacket, or your buoyancy aid.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05You can whip it out, wave it, type of thing.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09The most usual thing that people would carry would be a smoke flare
0:36:09 > 0:36:11possibly, and you can get quite small ones.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14And so if you are in real trouble and you want to attract attention,
0:36:14 > 0:36:19if you fire off a smoke flare, then, obviously, all the orange smoke gives a very good visual -
0:36:19 > 0:36:20"I'm over here. I'm in trouble."
0:36:23 > 0:36:28It's been over a year since Kirk almost lost his life in the Dovey
0:36:28 > 0:36:32estuary and he's not dared venture back since.
0:36:32 > 0:36:38He's slowly building up his nerve to windsurf on the estuary waters again.
0:36:38 > 0:36:45It does knock your confidence a bit, so I'll need to recover that a little bit. I'll go down the lake
0:36:45 > 0:36:48and practise those skills a little bit more.
0:36:48 > 0:36:53And when I go back to Aberdovey, I'll make sure there's
0:36:53 > 0:36:57an incoming tide and not an outgoing tide when I do it again!
0:36:57 > 0:37:00The tide is a very powerful force and when it combines with
0:37:00 > 0:37:04Britain's extreme weather, it can become even more lethal.
0:37:04 > 0:37:09It just proves, you should never underestimate the powers of nature.
0:37:13 > 0:37:21On 30th October, 2008, a freak hail and thunderstorm caused chaos when it hit Ottery St Mary in east Devon.
0:37:21 > 0:37:26There was torrential rain. There's ice, sleet.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29The front garden is just a pool of water.
0:37:29 > 0:37:36The hailstones blocked drains and culverts, leaving the record amount of rainfall with nowhere to drain.
0:37:36 > 0:37:42This resulted in catastrophic flash floods that engulfed the medieval town's roads and houses.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45Pensioner Barry Fearn was one of the victims of the floods.
0:37:45 > 0:37:52The ground floor of his three-storey house was inundated by water, leaving it uninhabitable.
0:37:52 > 0:37:57So how did you set about getting the house back to order?
0:37:57 > 0:38:00Well, fortunately, I didn't have to, cos the builders did that.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04But I'm still not straight and I won't be straight for months.
0:38:04 > 0:38:09And I've still got a lot of decisions to make about what I'm going to keep and what's going to go round to RIO.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13That's Recycling In Ottery, which is a very good organisation here.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15So that's basically it.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18I'm up and running, but I've still got a lot to do.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Barry called in builders, who gutted and replaced his kitchen.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27He also needed new carpets and furniture for the ground floor,
0:38:27 > 0:38:31which was completely redecorated, all at a cost of £30,000,
0:38:31 > 0:38:34that was covered by his insurance.
0:38:34 > 0:38:40Whilst Barry hasn't suffered financially, many living on a flood plain are often hit
0:38:40 > 0:38:44with having to pay higher insurance premiums because of the flood risk,
0:38:44 > 0:38:49though, thankfully, payments are reduced if defences are in place.
0:38:49 > 0:38:56It's incredible to think how much devastation the freak hailstorm wreaked on Ottery St Mary.
0:39:04 > 0:39:11And as it takes specific weather conditions for hail to form, the town was particularly unlucky,
0:39:11 > 0:39:15as forecaster and weather expert Ewen McCallum explains.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18It was almost what we'd call a freak event.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21We had incredible dynamics going on that would
0:39:21 > 0:39:25lead to thunderstorms and we were forecasting thunderstorms that night.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27Hailstones are effectively a frozen raindrop.
0:39:27 > 0:39:32That's a bit simplistic, but it's, effectively, raindrops that get sucked up by the thunderstorm.
0:39:32 > 0:39:37And they get recycled. They go round and round, so they get coated in ice.
0:39:37 > 0:39:38They get coated in snow as well.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41And, effectively, it's just layers of ice that build up.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46But what actually happened was, the local topography, the local convergence
0:39:46 > 0:39:50and the conditions were just right to give that absolutely really severe event.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54And not just an extremely severe event, but right over the town of Ottery St Mary.
0:39:54 > 0:39:55It was absolutely incredible.
0:39:57 > 0:40:04The flash floods in Ottery St Mary were out of the ordinary, but there are precautions you can take
0:40:04 > 0:40:08if you live in a flood-risk area, in case you get caught out.
0:40:08 > 0:40:15Be prepared. One thing that always upsets me the most if I go round somebody's home that's flooded is,
0:40:15 > 0:40:18you see irreplaceable things that have been lost -
0:40:18 > 0:40:20photographs, wedding videos.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23Know where they are and get them somewhere safe.
0:40:23 > 0:40:28Of course, if you're on medicine or need medical treatment, make sure you've got your medicines with you.
0:40:28 > 0:40:33And also, know where you're going to go if there's a flood. How are you going to get out?
0:40:33 > 0:40:38And if you've got one, try to have a battery operated radio, so you can just tune into the radio.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40Find out what's happening around you.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44Because if a flood does happen, it could be at night, and you could lose the electricity.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46So it's the old Boy Scout message -
0:40:46 > 0:40:48simple measures, just be prepared.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50And then if the worst does happen,
0:40:50 > 0:40:52at least you know what you're going to do.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59Not to be outdone by Britain's extreme weather,
0:40:59 > 0:41:02Barry, who organises tea dances and charity events, rallied the people
0:41:02 > 0:41:06of Ottery St Mary and arranged a lively knees-up
0:41:06 > 0:41:09to triumph over the adversity that befell their town.
0:41:09 > 0:41:14I decided to have a good party
0:41:14 > 0:41:17when people got back into their houses.
0:41:17 > 0:41:22And it just occurred to me that it would be nice to have it at a local hostelry,
0:41:22 > 0:41:26which was the Tumbling Weir, which was flooded as well.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28They had problems with flooding.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32And I thought it would be good to do that.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36And then it occurred to me to call it the Hailstone Hop.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39# An ill wind blew over Ottery that day... #
0:41:39 > 0:41:46'I had 108 people coming, which represents about two-thirds of the development here.'
0:41:46 > 0:41:49# Welcome to the Hailstone Hop. #
0:41:49 > 0:41:56So has anything good come out of the experience that you all went through?
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Boy, that's a difficult one.
0:42:00 > 0:42:07I think possibly, in hindsight, the good thing about it was that
0:42:07 > 0:42:12we are a community and we have really got back together again.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14A lot of people think it might happen again.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18I think what we had was something quite extraordinary, most probably
0:42:18 > 0:42:23- not to be repeated in another 200 years.- So you're feeling pretty safe?
0:42:23 > 0:42:26Oh, I feel totally safe, absolutely.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33It's only a matter of time until Britain's freak weather strikes again
0:42:33 > 0:42:38and, as you've seen, it can be terrifying, but you can survive it.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42Join us next time for more amazing stories on Living Dangerously.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:42:50 > 0:42:53E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk