'I left village I'd lived in all my life after floods - I still feel guilty'

Description

Stephen Cook had lived in the village of Fishlake all his life, but could not face returning after the River Don burst its banks in 2019, causing devastating flooding.

He now edits the parish newsletter from a few miles away in Thorne after he and his wife were so traumatised that they sold their home.

Cook, 73, admits to feeling he had "betrayed" the community where his father had been headmaster of the village school, but the mental strain had a significant effect on them.

New research by academics at the University of Huddersfield hopes to uncover the full impact of flooding on those affected.

Subject

Dr Tom Simcock is leading the study and expects to find that the more someone is impacted by flooding, the worse their mental health becomes.

"We think of home as a place of safety. In a similar way as if you've been burgled, your sense of security is being eroded when your house in a flooded."