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 an even bigger effect on our lives.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Dangerous floods threaten our homes.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Forest fires devastate our countryside
0:00:15 > 0:00:17and savage storms ravage our coastlines.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23Today, we find out what happens to Britain when freak weather hits.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30We see stories of people's lives who have been turned upside down.
0:00:33 > 0:00:39And we show you how to protect yourself, your home and your family from disaster.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41Welcome to Living Dangerously.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50We've all seen reports of tornadoes, flooding and storms,
0:00:50 > 0:00:54but how do they impact on people's lives?
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Today, we hear two incredible stories.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Coming up on Living Dangerously:
0:01:00 > 0:01:04A flash flood brings destruction to a quiet Shropshire town.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11The first we heard about the house collapsing was really by a friend,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14and she was crying, and she was in a terrible state.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18It took me quite a few minutes to get out of her what was the matter.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20All she kept saying was, "It's gone, it's gone."
0:01:20 > 0:01:25And an electrical storm delivers a terrifying strike to two young teens.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29I had burns to my body.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33I had a perforated eardrum,
0:01:33 > 0:01:36and I had some damage to my eye,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39and my burns were all black where there was melted plastic
0:01:39 > 0:01:41and all red and bloody kind of thing.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44With home video, actual footage and reconstruction,
0:01:44 > 0:01:48we show what happened during these real-life weather events.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00The tranquil, historic market town of Ludlow lies within a bend
0:02:00 > 0:02:02of the picturesque River Teme in Shropshire.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07With its charming medieval architecture
0:02:07 > 0:02:09and masses of unspoiled countryside,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13it's been home to Sol and Doreen Pearce for most of their lives.
0:02:16 > 0:02:22Born in Ludlow 71 years ago, married in Ludlow,
0:02:22 > 0:02:27had the children in Ludlow, so that's about my life, really.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Sol and Doreen met over 50 years ago
0:02:30 > 0:02:32whilst Sol was on leave from the army.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37Shortly after they got married, they moved into their dream home -
0:02:37 > 0:02:41a riverside cottage next to the town's picturesque Burway Bridge
0:02:41 > 0:02:43where they settled down to quiet life.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48We don't get involved in anything much, but it's nice for shopping, going for a walk round.
0:02:48 > 0:02:54Just ordinary town people, really, I suppose, just doing ordinary things.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Their home provided a perfect nest for rearing their family
0:02:58 > 0:03:01and an idyllic dwelling for their retirement.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06For over 41 years, Sol and Doreen lived on this tranquil road
0:03:06 > 0:03:11by the River Corve without incident, but in June 2007
0:03:11 > 0:03:16they were to experience such extreme weather that it would change the way they lived for ever.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Flash floods hit the pretty town of Ludlow with such force
0:03:21 > 0:03:26that it would gain world attention and cost Sol and Doreen their house.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30I'm here to meet them and find out what happened on that fateful day.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33- Hi, Doreen?- Hello, Nadia.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Oh, yes, hi, Sol. Nice to meet you.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37- Come in.- Thank you!
0:03:38 > 0:03:41I just want to take you back a bit
0:03:41 > 0:03:45to when you first moved into your house right on the River Corve.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Now, that was 41 years ago, yeah?
0:03:47 > 0:03:52- Yes.- We spent quite a lot of time and money in those days doing the cottage up
0:03:52 > 0:03:54- because it had been closed.- Uh-huh.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59And you know, it took us about three years, and then we moved in.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Had you had your eye on it for a while before you bought it?
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Well, no, we didn't. It belonged to Doreen's mother anyway.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11The house once stood at the edge of this site right next to the river.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16She said to me - her words were - which is quite appropriate now -
0:04:16 > 0:04:18she said, "I can't afford to do anything to it.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22"If you want to do something to it, you can, or it can fall in the river."
0:04:22 > 0:04:26With so much family history, this seemed like the perfect area
0:04:26 > 0:04:28to bring up their three children.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32And your grandchildren, I suppose, would have spent time growing up there as well.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Well, yes. The grandsons came a lot.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37Oh, yeah. We took them out.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40They always used to enjoy it cos you could feed the ducks
0:04:40 > 0:04:44and all things like that - watch the sheep in the field, you know?
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Sounds like a beautiful spot.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50It was always pleasant, yeah, a very, very pleasant spot.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Sol spent a lot of time maintaining their family home
0:04:54 > 0:04:57and fighting off damage caused by the river.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Well, the house wall was the river wall.
0:05:00 > 0:05:05Every year, I used to get in the river, possibly three or four times, with my wellingtons on,
0:05:05 > 0:05:10and if there was any mortar out of the bricks or the stones or anything, I used to put some more in.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13When it did flood, it would come up very quick and go over the field,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17you'd go to bed at night, and a lot of the field would be underwater.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Get up the next morning, and it had all gone.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23We'd never seen the river bank out of sight - well, I never had.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25We never had water in the yard at all.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Their garden was protected by an eight-foot wall, and the river water
0:05:30 > 0:05:33had never risen any higher than six foot.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39But nothing would protect the family home from what the weather had in store.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41THUNDER CRACKS
0:05:41 > 0:05:46Back in 2007, Britain experienced one of the wettest summers
0:05:46 > 0:05:50since records began, and on Monday, the 25th of June,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53the weather in Ludlow took an unusual turn.
0:05:55 > 0:06:01Things went terribly wrong on this lovely spot by the river.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Tell me about it, Doreen.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Well, it started raining quite early on the Monday morning, and it didn't stop.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11It just kept raining and raining and raining all day,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13and the river kept getting higher and higher,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16which we had been used to the river getting high,
0:06:16 > 0:06:18cos it always went across the field.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20So there'd been floods there before?
0:06:20 > 0:06:25Oh, often the river would come up, but nothing to that extent.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29Sol and Doreen's grandson, Edd, lives just one mile away
0:06:29 > 0:06:32and had also experienced two days of heavy rain.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37However, just after lunchtime on Monday,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41he noticed a significant change in the weather.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43It was pretty persistent rain for a few days,
0:06:43 > 0:06:48and then I think it was a Monday that it really did come down
0:06:48 > 0:06:52in sheets of rain, so the ground was saturated anyway.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56It couldn't carry anymore, and it just... It had to go somewhere, so...
0:06:56 > 0:07:01It was now early evening, and the rain continued to fall.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03The river kept on rising and rising.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Becoming increasingly worried,
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Sol and Doreen decided to call on their grandson Edd for help.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13It was about 8.30pm, 8.00pm, I suppose,
0:07:13 > 0:07:18we got a call off my nan asking if my brother and my dad and myself
0:07:18 > 0:07:22could go and help them move a bit of stuff from downstairs just upstairs
0:07:22 > 0:07:26cos they were a bit worried that the water was going to start coming in.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Ed got in the car with his brother and father
0:07:29 > 0:07:31and set off to help Sol and Doreen.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40But the storm continued, and the rain didn't subside.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44In just 12 hours, 35 millimetres of rain fell over Ludlow,
0:07:44 > 0:07:49and at 9.00pm that evening, the river finally burst its banks.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52For residents of Lower Corve Street,
0:07:52 > 0:07:56being situated by the river would have more serious implications.
0:08:00 > 0:08:05We knew that it was flooding... like the field was underwater,
0:08:05 > 0:08:11had been a lot of the day, and then I went into the sitting room
0:08:11 > 0:08:14to Doreen and was talking there for a few minutes and I came back,
0:08:14 > 0:08:19and I said, "We'd better do something quick." I said, "The river bank's out of sight."
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Sol and Doreen were in danger of being trapped in their own home,
0:08:23 > 0:08:25and that home was right by the surging river.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29Ed was fighting his way through the floods to help Sol and Doreen,
0:08:29 > 0:08:32but as he drove to their house with his brother and father,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35the water levels were rising rapidly.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43At this point, there must have been a fair amount of panic setting in, Doreen?
0:08:43 > 0:08:46- Were you frightened at this point? - Well, we knew we could...
0:08:46 > 0:08:50We'd be able to get out up the yard, but by the time they did come,
0:08:50 > 0:08:55the water was coming over the wall at the back, so it was just like a weir.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Floodwater had started coming over the eight-foot back wall
0:08:58 > 0:09:02to Sol and Doreen's house, and it had begun to engulf
0:09:02 > 0:09:07their riverside garden, making it part of the River Corve itself.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Fear and panic had taken over Ludlow's 10,000 residents.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13People living near the river began fleeing
0:09:13 > 0:09:15as the flood began taking over their houses.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Local police officer John Ralph recalls the pandemonium.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22The flooding started off in people's back gardens more than anything.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24The ground itself was saturated,
0:09:24 > 0:09:28but people who were living close to the river, obviously,
0:09:28 > 0:09:33the water advanced over their gardens, which were water-logged,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36and there were several houses where the downstairs was flooded.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40The deepest water that I witnessed was Lower Corve Street.
0:09:40 > 0:09:46In a state of high alert, the emergency services began an intense rescue operation.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52Our prime directive is life and limb, and that's the reason
0:09:52 > 0:09:55that myself and my colleague got involved and entered the water.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59Fortunately, we were equipped - I was equipped and trained to do so,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02but my initial thought was, secure people's property,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06make sure that people that needed to be evacuated were evacuated.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10In the lower lying areas that weren't too badly flooded,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13it was a case of going door to door and making a note of people
0:10:13 > 0:10:18who could evacuate themselves, and the old and the infirm who perhaps couldn't,
0:10:18 > 0:10:23so that we had a short list of people, should it get worse, that we could immediately evacuate.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27The river was cascading through the town and picking up anything in its path.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Meanwhile, Sol and Doreen were in their house waiting anxiously
0:10:31 > 0:10:34for their son and grandsons to help them save what they could.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40What was that like to see after so many years living there and never seeing anything?
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Well, we were just trying to tear around to move a little bit of stuff as quick as we could,
0:10:44 > 0:10:49- but I mean, it was coming up about a foot, in about five minutes. - Five or ten minutes, like, yeah.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52It was rising so quickly, it was unbelievable.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54You just couldn't believe the sheer volume.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Things were starting to go down the river from further up,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01gas cylinders and oh, all sorts of things going down by the window,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04just bobbing along.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Coming up later on Living Dangerously:
0:11:06 > 0:11:10the terrible flash floods in Ludlow continue to wreak havoc...
0:11:14 > 0:11:18..and the water wears away at the very foundations
0:11:18 > 0:11:21of Sol and Doreen's house with horrifying consequences.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25We couldn't believe it when we saw how much it had gone, really.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29- Oh, no.- It all went out, all the side, everything - floating around like a boat.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39The town of Raleigh lies 30 miles east of London in the County of Essex.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47It's home to 14-year-old sweethearts Sophie Frost and Mason Billington.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50They met at a local comprehensive school
0:11:50 > 0:11:53and have been inseparable ever since.
0:11:53 > 0:11:59We'd been seeing each other for about a month and a week. I really like Sophie.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03He's a very lovely person, very nice to have met him.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07On Monday, June 15th, 2009, the weather forecast predicted
0:12:07 > 0:12:11bright spells with scattered heavy, thundery showers,
0:12:11 > 0:12:15but since the predicted rain hadn't arrived at 4.00pm,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17Sophie and Mason finished school
0:12:17 > 0:12:21and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out with friends.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Yeah, we was at the skate park
0:12:24 > 0:12:28and was mainly playing at the actual park kind of thing,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31and it was quite nice, the weather.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36But what they didn't realise was that throughout the day
0:12:36 > 0:12:39extreme weather conditions had been building.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44Hot air from the Mediterranean clashed with cold air coming over from the Atlantic.
0:12:44 > 0:12:50This led to dangerous thunder clouds forming over the Essex area, and just before 6.00pm,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54Sophie and Mason noticed a change in the weather as it began to rain.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58When the weather started getting bad, our two friends left.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Like, we started on our way home.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03It started really raining.
0:13:03 > 0:13:08We noticed that the sky was going... It was more cloudy.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12We were going to head home, but it started to get more rainy,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16and we didn't think it was going to get much worse, but then it did.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24The heavens opened on the small town of Raleigh.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29Across town, local resident Janet Cooper was on her way home from work
0:13:29 > 0:13:33and had also been caught in a torrential downpour.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37The weather had started off fine. It was a lovely day,
0:13:37 > 0:13:40but on my way home, the rain was coming down horrendous.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42It was a really awful storm.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47It was torrential rain. I mean, everybody was driving really slow.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49It wasn't nice to be in.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54Back the skate park, Sophie and Mason were all alone
0:13:54 > 0:13:58as they decided to wait for the rain to pass, but at 6.30pm,
0:13:58 > 0:14:03the torrential downpour turned into a frightening thunderstorm.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08We were just kind of sitting there just like being kind of amazed by the sky.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12We were just sitting there going, "Look at the sky. It's so weird."
0:14:12 > 0:14:14It was all green, and it was really weird.
0:14:14 > 0:14:19The rain came down really fast, and then we started getting bolts of lightning,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22but it was quite distant, so I didn't really think too much of it.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28Realising that they weren't going to escape this electrical storm,
0:14:28 > 0:14:29Sophie and Mason took a decision
0:14:29 > 0:14:32which would have very serious consequences.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Well, the weather was becoming more of a downpour,
0:14:36 > 0:14:38so we went under a tree.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40At the time, it did look like the thing to do
0:14:40 > 0:14:42because, you know, it was raining.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46It's kind of your natural instinct to go under a tree, and shield from the rain.
0:14:46 > 0:14:52But all they could do was watch in horror as the lightning struck out all around them.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59We were just under there for about five minutes - five, ten minutes,
0:14:59 > 0:15:03when, like, there was thunder going on and lightning striking everywhere.
0:15:03 > 0:15:11It was just under the tree, really, was just hugging kind of thing, and then it's all gone blank for me.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16The tree they were sheltering under was struck by lightning.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21Travelling at 14,000mph
0:15:21 > 0:15:24with a temperature of 30,000 degrees centigrade,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26it's thought the lightning bolt hit the tree
0:15:26 > 0:15:30and literally jumped across to Sophie and then passed on to Mason,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34sending 300,000 volts of electricity down their bodies
0:15:34 > 0:15:37as they held on to each other.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41It kind of hit me so fast kind of thing. I was just a bit confused.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45I felt like I was kind of dreaming cos I couldn't feel my body, really.
0:15:45 > 0:15:50All I can remember is, like, feeling like numb, like I just couldn't think of what was happening.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55It was just like - just like being knocked down and having the wind completely knocked out of you.
0:15:56 > 0:16:02The couple were lucky to be alive, but they were suffering from burns and paralysed with shock.
0:16:02 > 0:16:08What was worse - no-one had witnessed the terrifying event to call out an ambulance.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11The storm showed no signs of abating, and Mason and Sophie
0:16:11 > 0:16:15were still at major risk of another lightning strike.
0:16:15 > 0:16:21We was both, like, laying on the floor. I came around first, and she weren't talking,
0:16:21 > 0:16:26like, shortly after, just like tried to ring an ambulance, on both of the phones.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31I could get through, but I weren't really sure what was going on,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35so I just gave up with that and just kept talking to Sophie.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37She had no idea what was going on, though.
0:16:37 > 0:16:43I'm not really responding, but then I start to get it together.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Apparently, I woke up a bit, and I started screaming out,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48"Mason, where's my shoe? I can't find my shoe!"
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Cos it had, like, flown across the field.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55I picked her up a couple of times. She just fell over straight away,
0:16:55 > 0:17:00like, after I let go of her, so I just put her arm around me.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05In fact, Sophie's shoe had been blown off because the moisture on her skin,
0:17:05 > 0:17:11whether rain or sweat, was turned into steam by the intense heat of the lightning bolt,
0:17:11 > 0:17:15and like a pressure cooker, the steam blew her shoe right off.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20Standing under a tree was the worst place the couple could have chosen to shelter
0:17:20 > 0:17:27from the storm as Stephen Lewis from The Open University's Physics and Astronomy Department explains.
0:17:27 > 0:17:32If you are in an open area when lightning occurs, lightning will tend
0:17:32 > 0:17:37to strike the tallest object within that area
0:17:37 > 0:17:40because charge will tend to accumulate on small, sharp points.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45In the case of people outside, if they're near a tree, they're far more likely to be hit,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48or at least the tree next to them will be hit,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51and the lightning will find it easier to reach the earth through a tree
0:17:51 > 0:17:54or through somebody's body than it would through air itself.
0:17:54 > 0:18:00The best thing to do if you get caught up in an electrical storm is to go inside a large building,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03or, if you're in the middle of nowhere, head for lower ground
0:18:03 > 0:18:06and stay away from tall, isolated objects like trees.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12A few minutes later, having made their way back through the skate park,
0:18:12 > 0:18:16Mason and Sophie staggered towards the main road to try and find help.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Luckily, Janet Cooper was driving past at just the right time.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25They attracted my attention by... Well, the fact that they were in the middle of the road,
0:18:25 > 0:18:30and they were just staggering around, and I just didn't think that looked right,
0:18:30 > 0:18:35and you could see Mason's eyes, that he was closing them, and he couldn't see where he was going.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38She goes, "Are you all right?" I go, "I think we've been struck by lightning."
0:18:38 > 0:18:42And she was just like, "Oh, my God," straight away helped us into the car.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46You can see from Sophie's clothes that there wasn't something right.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50Her top was melted, and her trousers were all shredded
0:18:50 > 0:18:54up to her knees, so, you know, it wasn't two kids drunk in the park.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56It was more serious than that.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00I was just - more and more of it was confusion in my head.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03I really couldn't think what was happening
0:19:03 > 0:19:06because I thought, you know, I should still be at skate park.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09It was kind of like going from one scene to another in a second.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11It was quite scary.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15I sort of said to them, "Have you phoned for an ambulance?"
0:19:15 > 0:19:19And Mason said, no, his phone wasn't working. Sophie's had got caught by the lightning,
0:19:19 > 0:19:24so I said to them, "Get in the car, and I'll take you to the hospital."
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Coming up later on Living Dangerously:
0:19:26 > 0:19:30As Janet races to hospital, Sophie makes a grim discovery.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32I couldn't feel pain on my body,
0:19:32 > 0:19:36but I could feel something running across my stomach.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40That was my iPod leads. My wire was stuck to my skin.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42I pulled it out. I couldn't feel it,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46but it was just like... Ew...a bit disgusting.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51And Mason finds out that this strike could have devastating consequences to his health.
0:19:51 > 0:19:58They said I had... burns to the cornea of my eye.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02Back to our story in Shropshire where terrible floods were sweeping
0:20:02 > 0:20:06through the town of Ludlow and engulfing everything in their path.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Streets and houses were deep in water,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11roads cut off and hundreds of people were stranded,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14including Sol and Doreen Pearce,
0:20:14 > 0:20:18who lived in a cottage inches away from the swollen River Corve.
0:20:18 > 0:20:25The water had got so high that it was coming over their eight foot back wall and flooding their garden,
0:20:25 > 0:20:30and within minutes, it had begun to take over their porch and seep into their kitchen.
0:20:30 > 0:20:37The elderly couple were trying desperately to salvage anything they could by taking it upstairs.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Were you in awe of the power of nature?
0:20:40 > 0:20:45Oh, yeah. Yeah. Just unbelievable.As lots of people have said since,
0:20:45 > 0:20:51you just can't really... The force of it is just amazing, really.
0:20:51 > 0:20:52But help was at hand.
0:20:52 > 0:20:57After travelling over a mile through the flash flood, at 9pm,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02the Pearce's grandson, Edd, and his brother and father, finally arrived
0:21:02 > 0:21:07to find Sol and Doreen struggling in the water taking over their home.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10We didn't manage to move a great deal of stuff,
0:21:10 > 0:21:12but what we did manage to move
0:21:12 > 0:21:15was more of sentimental value than anything else.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20I mean, it was pretty evident that we had to move a bit quickly and get what we could out.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23It was a bit of a panic at first.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27We come out, everybody was, by then it was right up the yard to the gate.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Once it came over, it was just like a dam.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35It started filling the house up really quickly, and then eventually it got up to
0:21:35 > 0:21:41about chest height, so it was time to get out then, really, before anyone got hurt.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43With water levels rising rapidly,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46the only option was to abandon the house.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49So once you got out of the house, what happened next?
0:21:49 > 0:21:53We went with, we went across to Anita's, our daughter's.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57We walked across here to the car, and then we all went across there.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02What was that night like, the first time you had been away from that house for 41 years?
0:22:02 > 0:22:07- We never slept much, did we?- No.- We just wondered what was going to...
0:22:07 > 0:22:11What sort of a state it would be in, like, really, I suppose.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16By 10.45pm, areas of Ludlow directly hit by the flash flood
0:22:16 > 0:22:20were being evacuated and the South Shropshire Leisure Centre
0:22:20 > 0:22:23was opened to take in people forced from their homes.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27For former town councillor Peter Corston, who dashed over
0:22:27 > 0:22:31to help the evacuees, this was the beginning of a very long night.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33The profound effect it had on me,
0:22:33 > 0:22:36seeing those people sitting in the leisure centre,
0:22:36 > 0:22:38the sheer devastation on their faces,
0:22:38 > 0:22:42it had to be seen to be believed.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45I don't think anybody ever expected anything quite like this,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48and like everything else, how prepared can you be?
0:22:48 > 0:22:52As the people of Ludlow faced a long, sleepless night,
0:22:52 > 0:22:57the ever growing mass of floodwater was to bring more destruction to the town.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03The fast flowing river continued to exert incredible pressure
0:23:03 > 0:23:06on the surrounding buildings, roads and structures.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12Located next to the Pearces' home, the town's Burway Bridge
0:23:12 > 0:23:16provided one of the main routes into Ludlow town centre.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20Throughout the day, the current of the cascading water
0:23:20 > 0:23:24had been getting stronger and the pressure on the bridge was building.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29By the early hours of the next morning,
0:23:29 > 0:23:34the bridge had collapsed, causing mayhem throughout the town.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36What did it look like?
0:23:36 > 0:23:39- Well...- A bomb site. - It did, really, yeah,.
0:23:39 > 0:23:44It was quite a big concrete bridge, and it had just collapsed, you know?
0:23:44 > 0:23:46And was this just from the sheer force of the water?
0:23:46 > 0:23:49- Oh, yeah.- Yeah, that's what the engineers told us.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53The immense volume of the water trying to force its way
0:23:53 > 0:23:55under the bridge undermined the support arches.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59It was literally the amount of water that it was holding back.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03The water couldn't flow under the new bridge quickly enough,
0:24:03 > 0:24:05and of course, the weight of water that it was
0:24:05 > 0:24:08holding back on that flood plain and in Lower Corve Street
0:24:08 > 0:24:11was clearly too much for the bridge to support.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14The next morning the flood waters started subsiding,
0:24:14 > 0:24:18so Sol and his grandson Edd took the opportunity to go back
0:24:18 > 0:24:22to Sol and Doreen's riverside home to rescue what they could.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25How did you feel, you and your grandson,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28when you got there, and what did you see?
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Well, it was, you know, like, it was halfway up the kitchen window, the water had been.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Everything, like, on the ground floor was just saturated.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39We managed to get back into the property
0:24:39 > 0:24:42and get some of the belongings out, just some clothes and stuff
0:24:42 > 0:24:45to begin with, for my nan and granddad,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48just some stuff so they could carry on with daily life a bit more.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56Having saved what they could, Sol returned to the safe haven
0:24:56 > 0:24:59of his daughter's house where he was reunited with Doreen,
0:24:59 > 0:25:06but, unbeknown to them, the flood was about to strike a devastating blow to their home of 41 years.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10The first inkling they got was when they switched on the local news.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14So you actually saw your house and the bridge actually for the first time on the news?
0:25:14 > 0:25:16- That's right.- What was that like?
0:25:16 > 0:25:20Well, to me, I was surprised. I said, "Oh!" I just couldn't get over it.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22"Look. It's taken a piece out."
0:25:22 > 0:25:25A chunk of their house had fallen away into the water,
0:25:25 > 0:25:28but the following day worse was to come.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31When the bridge close to their home collapsed,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35it created a suction that pulled away the foundations of the building.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Brick by brick, the house started to crumble into the river.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42What happened next was unimaginable.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46The sheer force of the water tore down Sol and Doreen's beautiful home,
0:25:46 > 0:25:52washing their belongings into the gushing torrent of water.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56The first we heard about the house collapsing was really by a friend,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59- and she was crying and she was in a terrible state.- Oh!
0:25:59 > 0:26:03And it took me quite a few minutes to get out of her what was the matter.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06All she kept saying was, "It's gone, it's gone."
0:26:06 > 0:26:08I said to her, "What do you mean, Mary? What's gone?"
0:26:08 > 0:26:10And she said, "Your house."
0:26:10 > 0:26:12And I said, "Well, where's it gone?"
0:26:12 > 0:26:14And she said, "In the river."
0:26:14 > 0:26:16- And we couldn't believe it.- No, no.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21- So nobody was expecting this at all? - I don't think they were.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23- No, nothing like that. - What an enormous shock!
0:26:23 > 0:26:27We couldn't believe it when we saw how much it had gone, really.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32Oh, no, no. All of Doreen's clothes, a triple wardrobe full of clothes...
0:26:32 > 0:26:35- It all went out, all the side, everything.- All that, you know...
0:26:35 > 0:26:39- Literally just fell into the river? - Floating around like a boat.
0:26:39 > 0:26:45The flash flood was ultimately responsible for destabilising and destroying their beautiful home.
0:26:45 > 0:26:51Sol and Doreen's plight made them the centre of local media attention.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55- Look at it! I just can't believe that.- No, I can't.
0:26:55 > 0:27:00You can even see me dressing gown on the back of the bedroom door.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03- How are you feeling?- No, not... - Not brilliant.- No.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Not brilliant at all.
0:27:05 > 0:27:10Hundreds of memories had been washed away by floodwater.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Everything they'd worked for in life, really.
0:27:13 > 0:27:17I mean, the house and all their belongings inside
0:27:17 > 0:27:22and just seeing all those years of hard work and that just wiped away.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27The community of Ludlow were devastated by this freak weather,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30and throughout the county of Shropshire
0:27:30 > 0:27:341,000 properties were flooded and 70 people had to be rescued.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39The District Council set up a flood relief, the administration,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42to help local people immediately who'd lost everything.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Everybody's praying hard that it will never happen again,
0:27:46 > 0:27:51but I think with the way global warming and the threats that we seem to have of extreme weathers,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54then that is why people are now nervous,
0:27:54 > 0:27:58I think, because they think it has happened once, and having suffered that,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02then I'm sure they think, "Well, what's to stop it happening again?"
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Coming up on Living Dangerously:
0:28:06 > 0:28:09How will the Pearces rebuild their lives?
0:28:09 > 0:28:15And find out what you can do to prepare yourself in the event of a flash flood.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19Got an emergency grab bag, so if you have to leave the house in a hurry,
0:28:19 > 0:28:24everything we need is there, prescriptions, insurance and even a credit card
0:28:24 > 0:28:27that you've not used in the past that you can have in there,
0:28:27 > 0:28:30so if you have to run you've got some way of getting some money.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Earlier on in the market town of Rayleigh in Essex,
0:28:38 > 0:28:41what had started out as a relatively sunny day
0:28:41 > 0:28:44had suddenly taken a turn for the worse.
0:28:45 > 0:28:51Teenagers Sophie Frost and Mason Billington were struck by lightning,
0:28:51 > 0:28:55sending 300,000 volts crashing onto their bodies.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00A passer-by saw the couple in distress
0:29:00 > 0:29:02and picked them up in her car.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05When I phoned their parents,
0:29:05 > 0:29:09I spoke to both mums and the first thing I said to them is,
0:29:09 > 0:29:12"You don't know me, but I have Mason, Sophie in the car,
0:29:12 > 0:29:14"and they've been struck by lightning,"
0:29:14 > 0:29:18and obviously their response was, "Oh, my God!" It was a bit of a shock.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22I just kept repeating myself, "What do you mean? What do you mean?"
0:29:22 > 0:29:25I just couldn't take it in, what she was saying.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28Meanwhile, in the back of the car,
0:29:28 > 0:29:31Sophie was starting to realise the extent of her injuries.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34When the lightning struck Sophie,
0:29:34 > 0:29:39the wires to her MP3 player melted onto her skin.
0:29:39 > 0:29:40I couldn't feel pain on my body,
0:29:40 > 0:29:44but I could feel something running across my stomach.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48That was my iPod lead, and I just ripped it out and a wire was stuck to my skin.
0:29:48 > 0:29:49I pulled it out.
0:29:49 > 0:29:55I couldn't feel it, but it was just like... Ew...a bit disgusting.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58Sophie pulled the wires out of her top.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01They were all black, and then she lifted up her top
0:30:01 > 0:30:03and she had a big burn down her stomach.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05It looked really, really bad.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07It was now just after 7pm,
0:30:07 > 0:30:12and Janet was desperate to get Sophie and Mason to hospital.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15But with the storm continuing, this wasn't going to be easy.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18The lightning was still coming down.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20There was cars was slowing down.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23There was horrific traffic, so it was just a worry that,
0:30:23 > 0:30:27you know, I was maybe not going to be there as quickly as I could be,
0:30:27 > 0:30:29but I did what I could.
0:30:33 > 0:30:41At any particular moment, there are around 2,000 thunderstorms occurring in the earth's atmosphere.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44A typical storm lasts about one to two hours
0:30:44 > 0:30:48and can measure anywhere between two and 10 kilometres in width.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52The chance of being struck by lightning is around one in three million,
0:30:52 > 0:30:56and around five people get struck every year in the UK.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00Most people who are hit by lightning aren't killed.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04Perhaps one person in ten is, and that's typically a cardiac arrest,
0:31:04 > 0:31:07but for most people, for about nine out of ten people,
0:31:07 > 0:31:09they won't suffer such a bad shock as that.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13They'll have some shock, but the most damage they're likely to have
0:31:13 > 0:31:15is a burn where the lightning meets their body.
0:31:15 > 0:31:20After a 30-minute car journey battling against the storm,
0:31:20 > 0:31:22Janet finally arrived at Southend Hospital.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Sophie and Mason were rushed to the accident and emergency ward.
0:31:26 > 0:31:31Their immediate concern was Mason's eye damage and Sophie's burns.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35I remember when we got to the hospital, as soon as I stepped out of the car
0:31:35 > 0:31:38there was just loads of paramedics and doctors
0:31:38 > 0:31:44running to the car trying to put me, kind of carrying me to the A&E.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49Sophie was in more bad condition than Mason, in that she looked...
0:31:49 > 0:31:51You could see she was more burnt than Mason was.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55All around her neck was black, and her top was melted
0:31:55 > 0:31:58and her trousers were really badly torn.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02Mason didn't look as bad, but obviously he kept closing his eyes
0:32:02 > 0:32:07because he had been hit on the head quite badly.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12Both families raced to the hospital as soon as they heard the news.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16Mason's mum Sonia was first on the scene.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20I was just really anxious to get to the hospital and see him.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22Just frightened.
0:32:22 > 0:32:27It was just, his eyes and his head, he kept touching his head,
0:32:27 > 0:32:31like as if he had severe migraine and closing his eyes,
0:32:31 > 0:32:34and that frightened me and his dad.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37You know, we just kept asking the doctors, "What's wrong?
0:32:37 > 0:32:39"Why is he doing that to his head?"
0:32:39 > 0:32:42They sort of assured us that it was normal,
0:32:42 > 0:32:46that it's just part of the shock going through him.
0:32:46 > 0:32:51They said I had burns to the cornea of my eye.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57And there was just...and the ringing in my ear I had as well.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00They were just concerned about my eyes and my ears.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06Sophie was later transferred to a specialist hospital in Chelmsford
0:33:06 > 0:33:11where she received treatment for her burns.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15I had burns to my body. I had a perforated eardrum
0:33:16 > 0:33:21and I had some damage to my eye, and my burns were all black
0:33:21 > 0:33:24where there was melted plastic and all red and bloody kind of thing.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28Lightning travels so fast that it breaks the speed of sound,
0:33:28 > 0:33:32creating a sonic boom that can reach hundreds of decibels.
0:33:35 > 0:33:41Sophie's eardrum was burst by this when the lightning hit her body.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44And the burns on Sophie's legs were caused by lightning
0:33:44 > 0:33:47travelling down her body on its way to the ground.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53Luckily, Sophie was wearing an MP3 player that day,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56and the wire to her headphones took the brunt of the attack,
0:33:56 > 0:33:59diverting the lightning away from her vital organs.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04Lightning will always prefer to find the most conductive substance
0:34:04 > 0:34:07that it can find on its route to earth,
0:34:07 > 0:34:11and the most conductive substance of all is probably silver or copper
0:34:11 > 0:34:14or metal in a wire such as used for an electric circuit,
0:34:14 > 0:34:16and so it will tend to find that route
0:34:16 > 0:34:19just as water flowing downhill will find the route of least resistance.
0:34:19 > 0:34:24Sophie and Mason both stayed in hospital for one week.
0:34:24 > 0:34:29It's now two months on. Sophie still has scars to her chest, which will fade over time,
0:34:29 > 0:34:33and Mason's long-range vision has been impaired,
0:34:33 > 0:34:38but is expected to steadily improve and return to full vision in two years' time.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42The pair are lucky to have survived this accident,
0:34:42 > 0:34:45but how has it affected them psychologically?
0:34:45 > 0:34:47- You know that was coming! - That was mean!
0:34:47 > 0:34:51Looking back at the experience, it's made us think, you know,
0:34:51 > 0:34:56life is shorter, you know, kind of, it can end at any time, you know?
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Have fun. Do the best you can, you know?
0:34:58 > 0:35:00You've got to live it up, really.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02It doesn't really hurt anymore.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04There's no pain.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08There's no long-lasting damage. Everything's all right, really.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11All my injuries have gone down, like, dramatically improved.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16My eyesight's a little bit blurry, but that's about it.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18Yeah, everything's as normal.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22I'm as fit and healthy as I was before, so, you know, I can do what I could do before.
0:35:22 > 0:35:28If anything, it's improved my bowling, so, you know, it's all good!
0:35:28 > 0:35:31I think it's made my bowling worse, to be honest!
0:35:31 > 0:35:33I never used to be this bad!
0:35:33 > 0:35:35THEY LAUGH
0:35:41 > 0:35:45In June 2007, Ludlow residents Sol and Doreen Pearce's home was
0:35:45 > 0:35:51undermined by floodwater, causing it to collapse into a rampaging river.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55Look at it! I just can't believe that.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58- How are you feeling?- Not brilliant.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00- No.- Not brilliant at all.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04Unable to withstand the power of the elements any longer,
0:36:04 > 0:36:10the building simply crumbled into the swollen river below.
0:36:10 > 0:36:15Save for a few keepsakes they could grab before escaping to safety,
0:36:15 > 0:36:20Sol and Doreen lost everything in the house they had been living in for over 40 years.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24- So you just had to accept that the house had gone?- Yes.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26And where did you live? Where did you stay?
0:36:26 > 0:36:30We happened to see this bungalow, it'd been empty, and so we asked
0:36:30 > 0:36:34our friend Marion and she said, "I can tell you whose it is,"
0:36:34 > 0:36:38and they were in the process of thinking about doing it up to let it.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41We had already looked at this earlier in the year
0:36:41 > 0:36:45because we'd got ours on the market, and so we came back and had a look
0:36:45 > 0:36:49at this and one or two more. We decided we'd buy this, and so we...
0:36:49 > 0:36:52And a lovely place it is too!
0:36:52 > 0:36:55And how's life been since you moved into your new home?
0:36:55 > 0:36:57- All right, thank you, yeah.- Oh, yeah!
0:36:57 > 0:37:00Yeah, yeah, quite all right, yeah.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05"All right, thank you!" So are you enjoying living in your new home?
0:37:05 > 0:37:08Yeah. Find it a bit quiet to where I was, I got to be honest,
0:37:08 > 0:37:13and I miss seeing the sheep and the ducks and, yeah...
0:37:13 > 0:37:16The ducks on the river, like, and that.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18Yeah. It's quite quiet here, really.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22So you've lost something, but also gained something.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25That's right, yeah. Can't win it all, can you, really?
0:37:25 > 0:37:30I was glad to see the Pearces happy in their new home,
0:37:30 > 0:37:33but with flooding a risk that millions of us face,
0:37:33 > 0:37:37I want to find out more about what we can all do to protect our homes.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44So I'm meeting Mary Dhonau from the National Flood Forum,
0:37:44 > 0:37:48who has personal experience of the devastation flooding can bring.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51Now, your home has been flooded countless times.
0:37:51 > 0:37:56What advice would you give to people that live in flood areas?
0:37:56 > 0:38:00Well, first, and most importantly, to sign up for the free
0:38:00 > 0:38:03Environment Agency flood warning, so at least you know,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06wherever you are, they're all singing, all dancing nowadays.
0:38:06 > 0:38:11You can get one by text, by e-mail, at work, at home, a friend can tell you.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14So you can sign up for that, and at least you can be alerted.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17Now, one thing I've got is a family flood plan.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20We've planned what to do should a flood warning come,
0:38:20 > 0:38:23so even my kids are signed up to this, and by the time
0:38:23 > 0:38:29I got home last time, my doors were upstairs, so my children know what to do,
0:38:29 > 0:38:32and we've also got an emergency grab bag, so if we have to leave
0:38:32 > 0:38:35the house in a hurry, everything we need is there -
0:38:35 > 0:38:39prescriptions, insurance, everything that you need, and even a credit card
0:38:39 > 0:38:42that you've not used in the past that you can have in there
0:38:42 > 0:38:45so that if you have to run, you've got a way of getting money.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48And you have one of these ready all the time?
0:38:48 > 0:38:51Oh, yes, an emergency grab bag, absolutely, wouldn't be without one.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54It's packed, and it's forgotten. I haven't got to worry about it.
0:38:54 > 0:38:59I haven't got a last-minute panic should I have to get out. It's on the wardrobe, packed, forgotten about.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02And what about your possessions in the house?
0:39:02 > 0:39:06Well, there's lots of things you can do to protect your property.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10Your home. There are anti-backflow valves, toilet bungs, and...
0:39:10 > 0:39:12What's a toilet bung?
0:39:12 > 0:39:16You put it down your toilet and pump it up to stop the sewage coming back up,
0:39:16 > 0:39:20and having had a carpet of poo floating round in my house
0:39:20 > 0:39:25and other people's toilet paper, and I know it was because I don't use
0:39:25 > 0:39:31blue toilet paper, things like that, modern-day helpfulness to stop sewage coming into your home is great.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35And also there are huge polythene bags that you can use for goods that
0:39:35 > 0:39:39you can't get upstairs because if you can take your possessions upstairs,
0:39:39 > 0:39:45great, but some people have got staircases that are too narrow or too big, three piece suites.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48You can actually put them in great, big polythene bags.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50Even your car can go in one.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54- Really?- Yes, and you can wrap them up, and they can float in the water.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57What would you say to somebody that might be watching now that is
0:39:57 > 0:40:01actually stuck living in a flood area with no possibility of selling?
0:40:01 > 0:40:04I think there are a few things that people can do.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06For instance, get rid of wooden floorboards
0:40:06 > 0:40:09and replace them with concrete and then ceramic tiles over them.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13I have a cement-type plaster on the walls.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17You can get Limelite plaster, and both of those are washable.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20Electric sockets up the wall, everything that matters up the wall.
0:40:20 > 0:40:26You can get plastic kitchens, stainless steel kitchens that can be washed down and steam cleaned,
0:40:26 > 0:40:31and you can use them again, and I think if made those modifications to the inside of your house then you
0:40:31 > 0:40:38actually have got a saleable item, and very importantly, the insurance industry will smile sweetly on you.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41Well, Mary, thank you for talking to me. You're an inspiration,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44and if I was a flood, I'd be scared of you!
0:40:50 > 0:40:53Two years ago, overwhelming flash floods hit Ludlow,
0:40:53 > 0:40:56leaving a thousand homes flooded.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59The town's Burway Bridge collapsed,
0:40:59 > 0:41:03causing the Pearce's beautiful cottage to fall into the river.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13In June 2009, Sol and Doreen were invited along
0:41:13 > 0:41:16to open the new bridge. What was that like?
0:41:16 > 0:41:20Very nice, you know, good of them to ask us, really.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23- We had to cut the tape.- Oh, did you?
0:41:23 > 0:41:25Did you feel almost royal, Sol?
0:41:25 > 0:41:29I said as long as we didn't have to make a speech!
0:41:29 > 0:41:33I did insist with the County Council that they really were the most appropriate people
0:41:33 > 0:41:37to actually cut the tape because it was their house that had been washed away.
0:41:37 > 0:41:42Sadly, as the location of their former home will always be prone to flooding,
0:41:42 > 0:41:45a decision was made not to rebuild it.
0:41:45 > 0:41:51Instead, insurers paid for Sol and Doreen to be relocated into their new home.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55A neighbour who lives two houses away from their old house
0:41:55 > 0:41:59bought the plot of land and has turned it into a beautiful garden.
0:41:59 > 0:42:04But returning to the site of their former home is always going to be bittersweet.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07Rosemary, the lady that bought the plot of land,
0:42:07 > 0:42:10I mean, she's very good. If ever...
0:42:10 > 0:42:13A couple of months ago, we went for a walk around.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16We were stood on the bridge, and she was sat out there and saw us.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18It all looks nice down here. Rosemary's got it very nice.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22- Oh, she's got it very nice down here, yeah.- It's lovely, isn't it?
0:42:22 > 0:42:25We're always welcome to come. Any time we see Rosemary,
0:42:25 > 0:42:29it's "Come and have a look," or, "Come and have a cup of tea," which is very nice.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32There was nothing we could do about it, was there?
0:42:32 > 0:42:37- No. It was just a thing that happened, so...- Yeah.
0:42:37 > 0:42:42The people of Ludlow will always be marked by the effects of extreme flooding,
0:42:42 > 0:42:47but until freak weather hits again, life goes on as normal.
0:42:47 > 0:42:53Join us next time for more amazing stories on Living Dangerously.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
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