Lowerhouse Mile 'Flooding' Memories - 2016

Flash flooding hits Lowerhouse & Burnley - (June 2016)
Flash flooding hit Lowerhouse & Burnley where homes were deluged by rain and the cricket club was left under three feet of water.
A 90-minute cloudburst overwhelmed drains and washed across roads in the town. Worst-hit was the Lowerhouse area where more than 20 homes were affected by the rising water levels leaving residents clearing up afterwards.

St Augustine’s of Canterbury RC Primary School in Lowerhouse Lane suffered a flooded corridor while residential properties on the road were badly-affected. Homes in Thornhill Street and Lowerhouse Fold also saw water washing into their gardens and backyards and then into the kitchens and ground floor rooms. Cars were left with water washing around their tyres and wheel arches while sludge covered many pavements and highways.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service took nine calls in a half hour period. A spokeswoman said: “This was serious flash flooding. “So many calls in such a short time in such a small area is unusual if not unprecedented. “We despatched an appliance from Burnley Fire Station to pump out more than 20 properties in Lowerhouse. Stan Heaton, the chairman of Lowerhouse Cricket Club, said: “This is the worst flooding I have seen in the 50 years since I joined as a seven-year-old. “At one point the ground was under three feet of water, you could have paddled a canoe over it. “About 90 minutes of really heavy rain and water washed down off the Empire Business Park above our sloping ground and then down onto Lowerhouse Lane and Thornhill Drive. “Many were affected and some seem to be evacuated. “Then a fire engine arrived to pump them out. “It was a very heavy cloudburst and we have had to cancel our junior matches in the evening as a result.“ It affected the back streets where there were drains with geysers coming out of them. “The rain started about 1.30pm and lasted until 3pm.”

Lowerhouse Lane residents who were left clearing up included Ron Moolgaoker, Marilyn Pate and Evelyn Fawcett. The fire service spokeswoman said the calls started around 2.45pm with the fire engine remaining in Lowerhouse for over three hours. She said: “We had reports of grids lifted, drains overflowing, traffic disrupted by water washing over the highway and water in gardens and kitchens. “It was unusually bad and very localised.” Rosegrove with Lowerhouse councillor Marcus Johnstone said last night: “This has been serious flash flooding and I shall be investigating what happened. “I have just driven down Lowerhouse Lane on my way to a meeting and there were people standing on the street drying carpets and clearly clearing up and sweeping water out of their homes. “A lot of water appears to have fallen on the area in a very short-time, overwhelming the drainage.”