Family evacuated after storm causes landslide in Yorkshire facing homelessness

Natasha Conway, 24, her husband and their two-year-old daughter, were told to leave their house in Westlea Avenue, Riddlesden, at around 6.30am on Sunday morning.

They live in one of six homes that have been cordoned off after the cul-de-sac flooded and a large chunk of land was washed into the River Aire.

Bradford Council has told the homeowners it will not be safe to return “until further investigations have been completed”.

Ms Conway said her home, which she bought with her husband in July, is now effectively worthless and her family will be homeless if a structural engineer finds that it is no longer safe to live there.

She said: “We haven't been back since. We've literally got the clothes and our backs and had to go shopping to buy clothes for our daughter.

“We only had time to switch the lights off and then we got in the car and left.

“We've got a structural engineer coming out to see whether it's safe for us to move back in.

“The best thing for us at the moment would be for us to be homeless and for them to demolish it, so the insurance can give us the value of the house back, because we're never gonna be able to sell it.”

Ms Conway, who is currently staying with her parents, also said she feels “ridiculously cheated” as surveys conducted before they bought the house did not identify the risk of a landslide.

“We saved every pound we had to buy our first home and moved 200 miles to get it. It’s not even nine months later and we're homeless,” she added.

Jason Longhurst, the council's strategic director of place, said: “This continues to be a very difficult and traumatic situation for the residents involved. We are in regular contact with them and will continue to support them.

“This is an ongoing serious and complex issue involving multiple public agencies so it will take time to investigate.

“We are working hard to find answers for the six families affected and other residents nearby who are also worried and concerned.

“The area remains secured and our structural engineers are working with residents and their insurance companies to support them with what happens next.

“We have advised the people affected that, unfortunately, we believe the houses to be unsafe and should not be re-occupied until further investigations have been completed.”

The last week has seen high winds and rain from storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin cause problems across the country and about 400 properties have already been flooded.

The Energy Networks Association said 1,800 customers were still without power as a result of the storms, but 1.48m customers had been reconnected.

The Met Office said Yorkshire will be hit by more rain tonight and there are 15 flood warnings in place across the county.

A yellow weather warning for wind was is also force across North and East Yorkshire and parts of Scotland today until 6pm.