BARONESS PAYS A VISIT
08:00 - 10 August 2007
Flood victims had a chance to give the
Government a first-hand insight into their plight when
Government minister Baroness Andrews OBE paid a visit to the
region.
Baroness Andrews, parliamentary undersecretary of state at the
Department for Communities and Local Government, toured damaged
properties in Market Weighton and Hessle yesterday.
East Riding Council's deputy leader Jonathan Owen and council
officials were on hand to show the Baroness the extensive
recovery efforts being made in the region.
She said: "I wanted to come and see for myself what had actually happened.
"It has been an eye-opener to see the extent of what people have had to put up with.
"I have had a chance to meet people who have worked so hard to retrieve the situation."
The Baroness said she was impressed by the strength of spirit shown by local people.
She said: "I will be taking the message back to the Government that Yorkshire has been hard hit, but what I'm impressed by is the way Yorkshire has helped itself.
"It has been a remarkable achievement the way people have helped each other.
"Those who have been affected have been very resilient and have worked together to help the situation."
The Baroness visited Angela Reditt, whose home in Springville Avenue, Hessle, was badly flooded.
Ms Reditt, 39, who lives with partner Martin Moulden, 47, and children Sophie Moulden, 16, and Ryan Moulden, five, said: "The Baroness said it was absolutely horrendous how bad it was in our house.
"I'm pleased she came to see it.
"It's taken a while for the message to get across, but I feel like now the Government is starting to understand."
Reader comments
giving voice to local people
| Stop wasting money showing people the damage and spend the money on repairing the damage |
| Steve, Hull |
| Interesting to see Baroness Andrews, but where is Barbara Young, CEO of the Environment Agency? With her salary of £163,000 per year and £24,000 bonus - is Barbara still keeping her head down to avoid the flak? |
| Ewan Larcombe, Datchet, Berks |
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