‘I can’t spend the next five years in my caravan’

A Doncaster woman has spoken of her “heartbreak” after her home flooded for the second time in five years.

Lavina Raywood moved back into her property in Stainforth just before Christmas, having been living with her daughters in a static caravan in the garden after floods destroyed the home in 2019.

The latest flooding saw snow melt and heavy rain cause a dam in front of Ms Raywood’s property to overflow.

Ms Raywood, 49, told the BBC: “I just managed to pull myself together and have my first Christmas in this house in five years and now it’s all gone again.”

The house Ms Raywood bought with her late husband Fraser, who died in 2022, originally flooded in 2019 along with several other properties in Doncaster.

The family decided to pay for additional repairs to prevent this from happening again.

Ms Raywood said: “At that time the water in the house was up to our knees so we raised the floor a foot.

“I’ve also installed underfloor heating.

“It took years to get it right but even last night the water came in.

“I only had the carpets for three weeks so I tore them out. I wasn’t going to let them get damaged.

“Water penetrated the plasterboard and into the kitchen, where I had only cooked dinner once.”

The property is one of three affected by flooding on Station Road, behind the Doncaster Greyhound Stadium.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that five firefighters had attended Station Road in Stainforth after receiving a call at 12:27 GMT about rising water levels.

Crews pumped water into a nearby storm drain until the water level subsided.

Ms Raywood has no doubts about the cause of the flood threat.

He said: “The dam is not designed for the amount of rain water.

“Whenever it rains or snows, the water has to go somewhere.”

The BBC has contacted Doncaster Council and the Environment Agency for comment.

Ms Raywood and her two daughters’ immediate plan is to speak to their insurance company and return to the caravan, but she said this may not be a “long-term” solution.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said.

“I don’t want to be out of my house again for the next five years.”

Despite the threat of flooding, the family has no immediate plans to leave the property.

Ms Raywood said: “It’s a Catch-22. I’m unable to move.

“No one will want to buy a house. I love it but I can’t keep doing it.”

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