Water leak floods family's £1million home forcing them to live in a portacabin
- last year
A family has been forced out of their £1million home and into a portacabin - after flooding caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage, they say.
Huge amounts of water has been spilled under the Catlings' four-bedroom property near Aylesbury, Bucks.
This has caused significant damage - which means they have had to temporarily move out while the problem is being fixed.
Julia Catling, 54, software engineer husband Karl Catling, 55, and their two children Hollie Catling, 24, and Gracie Catling, 19, are now living in "basically a caravan".
And they say their insurers will be looking to reclaim the money they have lost back from Thames Water.
Thames Water said the matter is currently with its insurers and solicitors and that it was in touch with the family.
Julia said: "They go on about hosepipe bans and saving water, but they’ve put millions of gallons under us.
“It’s made me feel terrified, we have no confidence in them fixing anything. It makes you scared of it happening again.
“We have horses on the property and can’t leave them without anyone here. We’re having to live in basically a caravan.
"It’s temporary accommodation which is costing my insurers £100k a year.”
Julia, who works in the equestrian industry, said she was first alerted to the issue in March 2020.
She says she saw Thames Water engineers appear outside the house, who apparently mentioned there was low water pressure in the area.
They then returned to the property in June of that year and excavated a stretch of road 20 feet from the home, it is claimed.
That summer, Julia says she began to notice water pooling on the land as well as damp patches and cracks in the walls of the house.
And in August 2020 the property flooded through the foundations.
Julia decided to investigate the area where Thames Water had been working and to her horror, discovered running water.
It transpired millions of gallons water had been flooding under the property, it is claimed, meaning the family was eventually forced to move out of the house while works were underway.
The riding area where Julia’s equestrian centre is based was also heavily affected by the flooding.
And the water has even meant Julia's daughter has been forced to change her wedding plans - as she was due to marry at the home on Saturday, April 8 this year.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “The customer’s claim is currently with our insurers and solicitors, and we’ve contacted the customer directly to update them on our progress with this matter.”
Huge amounts of water has been spilled under the Catlings' four-bedroom property near Aylesbury, Bucks.
This has caused significant damage - which means they have had to temporarily move out while the problem is being fixed.
Julia Catling, 54, software engineer husband Karl Catling, 55, and their two children Hollie Catling, 24, and Gracie Catling, 19, are now living in "basically a caravan".
And they say their insurers will be looking to reclaim the money they have lost back from Thames Water.
Thames Water said the matter is currently with its insurers and solicitors and that it was in touch with the family.
Julia said: "They go on about hosepipe bans and saving water, but they’ve put millions of gallons under us.
“It’s made me feel terrified, we have no confidence in them fixing anything. It makes you scared of it happening again.
“We have horses on the property and can’t leave them without anyone here. We’re having to live in basically a caravan.
"It’s temporary accommodation which is costing my insurers £100k a year.”
Julia, who works in the equestrian industry, said she was first alerted to the issue in March 2020.
She says she saw Thames Water engineers appear outside the house, who apparently mentioned there was low water pressure in the area.
They then returned to the property in June of that year and excavated a stretch of road 20 feet from the home, it is claimed.
That summer, Julia says she began to notice water pooling on the land as well as damp patches and cracks in the walls of the house.
And in August 2020 the property flooded through the foundations.
Julia decided to investigate the area where Thames Water had been working and to her horror, discovered running water.
It transpired millions of gallons water had been flooding under the property, it is claimed, meaning the family was eventually forced to move out of the house while works were underway.
The riding area where Julia’s equestrian centre is based was also heavily affected by the flooding.
And the water has even meant Julia's daughter has been forced to change her wedding plans - as she was due to marry at the home on Saturday, April 8 this year.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “The customer’s claim is currently with our insurers and solicitors, and we’ve contacted the customer directly to update them on our progress with this matter.”