by SWNS
A water leak floods the family’s £1million home forcing them to live in a mobile cabin
A family has been forced out of their million pound home and into a mobile cabin, after flooding caused hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage, they say. Huge quantities of water have been poured under the Catlings’ four bedroom property near Aylesbury, Bucks. This caused significant damage meaning they had to relocate temporarily while the issue was resolved. Julia Catling, 54, her software engineer husband Karl Catling, 55, and their two children Hollie Catling, 24, and Gracie Catling, 19, now live in “basically a trailer.” And they say their insurers will try to recover the money they have lost from Thames Water. Thames Water said the matter is currently with its insurers and lawyers and that it was in contact with the family. Julia said, “They keep talking about pipe bans and water savings, but they’ve put millions of gallons under us.” She made me feel terrified, we don’t have faith they’ll fix anything. She makes you afraid of it happening again. “We have horses on the property and can’t leave them with no one here. We basically have to live in a caravan. It’s temporary accommodation which costs my insurers £100,000 a year. ” Julia, who works in the equestrian industry, said she was first warned of the problem in March 2020. She says she saw Thames Water engineers appear outside the house, who apparently said there was low water pressure in the area.They then returned to the property in June of that year and they dug a stretch of road 20 feet from the house, it is claimed. That summer, Julia says she began to notice water puddles on the ground, damp patches and cracks in the house’s walls. 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 that millions of liters of water had flooded under the property, it is argued, meaning the family was ultimately forced to move out of the house while the works were underway. The stables where the Julia equestrian center is located were also heavily affected by the flood. And the water has even meant that Julia’s daughter has been forced to change her wedding plans, as she was due to be married at home on Saturday, April 8 this year. Julia said: “During the summer of 2020, we had a lot of damp and cracks in the house, but it’s an old house. “In August, the house was flooded to its foundations due to heavy rains and alarm bells started ringing. “It turned out that Thames Water had found a leak months ago but as they thought it was ending up in the field next to us they did not fix it. “The main current had broken and flooded the house and grounds. “The water went under the riding area and ruined it, what is left of my living room is wet, it ruined the fence on our land and the ground has gotten so wet in the winter.” The big outage for us it’s my daughter was supposed to got married from home last weekend and now we can’t keep it at home. “The disruption is beyond anyone’s comprehension. “The house is completely gutted right now and we’re in a series of mobile cabins that slot together, it’s as simple as that.” We’ve been there since May 2022 and won’t be returning to the house until August.” “They came and fixed it, but it failed a year later and there was a flood again two weeks ago [in March 2023]. “They need to know what can happen when these leaks are left near people’s homes. “Thames Water made no effort to come out and talk to us – they couldn’t care less.” A spokesman for Thames Water said: “The customer’s complaint is currently with our insurers and solicitors and we have contacted the customer directly to update them on our progress on this matter.”
