Merseyside was battered by heavy rain on New Year’s Eve, with heavy downpours continuing into the early hours of the morning, resulting in flooding, road closures and travel disruption across the region
A little boy has been in tears every day after his presents – including a brand new PS5 – were destroyed when flooding tore through his home on New Year’s Day.
Karolina Szynszecka, 41, received a devastating call from her ex-partner , who lived in Haydock, Liverpool, after his home was submerged by flood water on January 1.
At the time, the area was being battered by heavy rain, leading to road closures and travel disruption all over Merseyside. The family’s area suffered particularly horrendous weather conditions, with dozens of homes left under “6ft of filthy water” after the Sankey Canal burst its banks, which left several residents with “nothing”.
Speaking to the ECHO, Karolina explained how she and her son, Jacob Charlesworth, nine, had been celebrating the New Year in Manchester at her boyfriend’s house when her phone rang around 10am on New Year’s Day with the devastating news. She said: “We weren’t at home when it happened so we couldn’t save anything. It wasn’t even heavy rain here, my neighbours told me it happened very quickly. Within five minutes the houses were flooded, they said. I was at a New Year’s Eve party with my son and boyfriend in Manchester, we had had a great night and it was all ruined. I couldn’t believe it.”
Karolina said her son’s dad was walking the dog past her house when he saw what had happened and rang her. She added: “He rang me and said ‘I don’t want to worry you or ruin your day but you have nothing to come back to at the moment.’ I was thinking about what I left downstairs. What is it going to be like?
“I thought it would just be a bit of water and we could clean and save it but there was nothing to save. We have lost everything that was downstairs, we’d just had a new floor done and we’ve lost all my Christmas presents, a PS5, gaming chair, iPhones and documents all need replacing. My son was so excited on Christmas day opening his new presents, he was heartbroken. He is so upset at school because the kids keep talking about Christmas and their presents and he has got nothing.”
It has now been over a week since the family’s home was destroyed by the flood and they have been forced to stay on friends’ couches or live out of hotels. Karolina said: “We’re taking every day as it comes. I’ve been staying with my friends waiting for insurance money for accommodation. We stayed in a hotel yesterday and my son has been staying at his dad’s but he is getting upset being away from me.
“I took him out for dinner yesterday but he was crying, he doesn’t know what is going on, he is only nine and even if I tell him what is going on he keeps asking how are we going to be together again. I’m just glad we weren’t there when it happened so my son didn’t have to see it. We’re having to get an Airbnb tonight so I can stay with my son.”
The family is appealing for any local landlords who could rent them a property for the next few months until their home is liveable again to contact them. She said: “I’m trying to find a local landlord who will rent us something for a couple of months. People have been so willing to help but nobody wants to rent anything to us for just a couple of months. They’ve said it will take up to four months to fix our home and we need somewhere until then. I’m hoping it won’t take as long as they are saying to fix.”
