7th July 2012

LYME REGIS: Serious flooding in Lyme and surrounding area

TORRENTIAL rain and force six gales, prompting a Red Alert warning from the Met Office, have caused extensive flooding in Lyme Regis and the surrounding area.

Cottages along the River Lim in Windsor Terrace, Jericho and Mill Green, many of them holiday homes accommodating a new intake of visitors today, are under threat with owners desperately trying to keep the torrent of water at bay with sandbags.

Lyme Regis firemen were called to the Town Mill visitor attraction where water cascaded into the courtyard threatening a gallery and café.

Woodmead Road has been closed to traffic with water pouring out of the manholes.

Lyme Regis RNLI lifeboat crew worked with coastguards after a fishing boat broke from its mooring in the harbour and drifted 400metres on to the town’s shingle beach.

The boat, Amaretto, owned by Steve Sweet, was spotted drifting in a force six wind, heavy seas and torrential rain by harbourmaster Grahame Forshaw.

Mr Forshaw, who is also the volunteer RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager, alerted coastguards and the lifeboat was launched at 8.05am.

Conditions were not suitable for the lifeboat to tow the beached fishing vessel, so it was attached by rope to the RNLI tractor to await a lower tide when it could be lifted to safety.

Amaretto had been moored to a buoy outside the harbour.

The lifeboat crew took another boat owner to his vessel – also moored outside the harbour – so that it could be moved to a safer position inside the harbour.

Severe flooding has also been reported in Axminster and Bridport with the main roads to Colyton, Honiton and Sidmouth all blocked.

Lyme police have cordoned off the western end of Monmouth Beach, about 100 metres from the chalets, after a significant landslide.

There are also reports of several mudslides in the Lyme area, including at Yawl, blocking the Hunters Lodge to Uplyme road, and at Bosshill, near Seaton.

Woodmead Halls opened as an emergency centre for possible flood evacuees for two and a half hours before the threat had passed and no one would leave their home.

LYME REGIS: Serious flooding in Lyme and surrounding area

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