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The flooding has affected Pauline’s home and business and she is urging the farmer who owns the nearby field to take action to stop it from happening again
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Childminder facing more than £20,000 in damages from flooding in home
A childminder from Heddington in Wiltshire is grappling with devastation after repeated flooding of her rented home, which also houses her business.
Pauline Crane, who has run the business since March 2015, serves 18 children daily with the help of four staff. However, a series of floods this year has caused significant damage to her property, household items and business, leaving her feeling “emotionally broken”.
Pauline claims Nigel Cole, the farmer whose field she says is causing the flooding, needs to take responsibility to maintain proper drainage. She is now considering legal action to recover over £20,000 in damages incurred this year alone.
Pauline described the anxiety she experiences every time it rains saying: “We have to live with sandbags and storm doors next to our back doors as we cannot trust the weather. Heavy rain causes surface water flooding from the farmer’s field. I no longer feel safe in my own home.”
The stress of the situation has taken a toll on Pauline’s mental health and relationships. “I feel emotionally broken. We are prisoners in our own homes. If it’s raining outside, we are too scared to go anywhere. We dare not all go out at the same time. We have had to cancel trips away, outings with friends.”
Pauline detailed several flooding events in 2024. On January 4, floodwaters entered her home, destroying furniture and play equipment. Her business had to close temporarily while she and a team of 30 volunteers cleaned up. She and her husband redecorated afterwards, but on March 10 flooding struck again, leaving her without flooring and skirting boards for six weeks. Another significant loss of earnings followed.
She said that on March 28, on the day of a planned holiday to Las Vegas, her home flooded once more adding: “My husband stayed at home and forfeited his holiday to keep the house safe. I cried for the full week. It was no holiday.”
From September 23 and October 7 heavy rain caused torrents of water to rush through gardens toward their homes, requiring hours of effort to prevent flooding and on November 24 yet another close call saw neighbours working for over five hours to stop water from breaching their homes.
Pauline says she has repeatedly tried to engage her neighbour to address the issue. Although he initially agreed to dig a ditch, she claims the work was inadequate. “We spoke with the farmer several times to discuss the ongoing situation, and his response was ‘it was never a problem before’.”
The flooding has also sparked heated exchanges. “I had to phone the farmer to let him know we were flooding again. It became quite heated. He wants to blame everyone else, failing to accept it’s his land and his responsibility.”
Pauline is calling for the farmer to dig a proper drainage ditch and maintain his field to prevent future flooding. “We would like to get back to being the tight-knit community we once were. We don’t want to battle with anyone.”
She hopes for a resolution that will allow her to rebuild her business and find peace in her home saying: “I am a strong woman normally, but I feel broken at the moment. How am I expected to carry on living with this situation?”
In response to Ms Crane, the daughter of Nigel Cole, Helen Martin, said: “My father has already paid DC Excavations to dig the ditches and put a larger culvert in at a cost to himself of over £500.
“From what I understand you want him to dig a new ditch alongside one of his fields which would be over 250m long. There has never been a ditch there previously. This would cost a considerable amount and would require ongoing maintenance costs as well as a risk for livestock. It would also mean the residents would no longer have access at the back of their gardens which they currently have.
“There is also a risk of diverting the floodwater elsewhere and causing other flooding issues for residential properties nearby. My father has offered to bring soil to build a bund on the cottage’s side of the fence to create a flood defence, but this was rejected.”
Ms Crane said the reason she and her husband refused the offer of a bund was because it would have directed the flow of water to eight other homes of families and pensioners so she asked for a more suitable long-term solution.
Ms Martin, meanwhile, said her father was being made a “scapegoat” for the issues adding: “Before the rest of West View Cottages was developed there was an open ditch that has been filled in, that doesn’t help the flooding problems.”
Speaking to the Mirror, she added: “My father is actively working with the Environment Agency, Wiltshire Council and Pauline Crane’s landlord to ensure that he continues to be fully compliant with all responsibilities in connection with the matters noted. At present he is unable to deal with press interactions until these flooding matters are in hand.”
Councillor Nick Holder, Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Flooding, said: “Climate change is bringing milder, wetter winters to Wiltshire and we are also seeing more storms and heavy rainfall. We understand how distressing flooding can be for our communities and are committed to doing all we can to support affected residents and businesses. We are working with the parish council, landowners and residents in Stockley Hollow to reduce the risk of flooding and this remains an ongoing process.”
