Devastated Paul Gilbert discovered his beloved mum had died in the flooding caused by Storm Babet after firefighters did not recheck her property, an inquest has heard
A devastated son discovered his housebound mother had drowned in floods caused by one of the worst storms the UK has ever seen after the fire service did not recheck her home, an inquest has heard.
Beloved grandmother Maureen Gilbert, 73, lived in the property in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, her whole life but died when Storm Babet, the worst weather system of 2023, struck northern Europe. Her home was submerged when the River Rother burst its banks and totally flooded her home.
Tragic Mrs Gilbert was discovered floating in 5ft-high flood waters by Paul Gilbert. Assistant coroner Matthew Kewley gave a short narrative conclusion at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court and found there is still a risk to life in Tapton Terrace.
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Chesterfield Coroner’s Court heard firefighters did not return to her property following a recheck request, with Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service admitting they “fell short”.
Mr Gilbert agreed that lives remained at risk. He said: “I checked the river levels (before Mrs Gilbert died), and I was happy with them, and I was okay with them at the time, but it just comes from nowhere, and it comes that fast.
“More money does need to be invested in floods, because this is something that obviously is going to keep happening. More money needs to be available and more long-term plans need to be put in. I still believe that dredging rivers and cleaning rivers out, for me, is the most important thing.”
Mr Kewley said he will issue a prevention of future deaths report because he is concerned about the ongoing risk. He said: “I’m concerned in the event of another adverse weather event such as Storm Babet, that there is an ongoing risk to life at Tapton Terrace in respect to people who may be elderly, vulnerable or immobile.”
The inquest heard there are no formal flood defences at Tapton Terrace because of a lack of funding. Mr Gilbert said: “What I can’t get is that some of the funding – we’re talking going back to 2007, 2008 – alright, that funding may not have been available then, but when do we ever go back to it, reassess it again?
“It just seems to be shoved back on a shelf and left and then waits for another 15, 16, years until something else happens and then it all gets revisited again.”
The inquest heard that from 2018, a storage reservoir was used to reduce the peak flow further down the River Rother during heavy rainfall, but this was the “only significant step” taken since 2007 when Tapton Terrace was previously severely flooded.
The inquest heard Mrs Gilbert had health conditions and slept in her lounge downstairs for years before her death, but could get upstairs if she needed to. On October 20, Mrs Gilbert’s son put temporary flood defences at her doors, moved her mattress and kettle upstairs and checked her boiler was working.
That evening, firefighters “did all they reasonably and safely could” to try and rescue Mrs Gilbert, including by smashing a window and calling out to her, but she was unable to be evacuated.
A request was made for Mrs Gilbert’s home to be reinspected by the fire service the next morning, but because Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service’s control room systems went down, the message was not passed on and no crew attended her home the next day.
Mr Gilbert said he does not blame the fire service for the control room systems going down, but described finding his mother himself in the floodwater as one of his “biggest nightmares”.
Mr Kewley said: “I’m satisfied it cannot be said, on balance, that the outcome necessarily would have been different if that reinspection had taken place. It is entirely possible that she may well have already drowned on Friday (October 20) when the level was at its peak.
“I’m satisfied that Derbyshire Fire and Rescue took, to me what seems to be, significant steps to learn and identify improvements following Storm Babet. Mr Kewley concluded that Mrs Gilbert “died in her home due to drowning in floodwaters caused by Storm Babet”. Speaking about his mother, Mr Gilbert said: “[She was] stubborn, opinionated. She loved Chesterfield, loved her grandkids, real family orientated.”
Mrs Gilbert was one of at least seven people who died as a result of Storm Babet, which caused disruption across the UK. Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service deputy chief fire officer Clive Stanbrook said in a statement: “I would like to reiterate our sincere condolences to all of Maureen’s family and friends who have lost someone they loved in devastating and distressing circumstances.
“I want to give assurances that we have already learned from this incident, we have invested heavily in our systems and we have made changes to our operational processes, something noted by the coroner.”
