UNKNOWN MISERY OF FLOOD VICTIMS

11:21 - 28 April 2008

The true figure for the number of people who still haven't returned home in the wake of the June floods will never be known, experts claim.

As the Floods Recovery Minister John Healey revealed, the number of people still out of their homes nationally was higher than previous predictions and those involved in the clean-up operation have said homeowners are still coming forward to say they have not yet moved back into their homes.

Across Hull, based on council tax discounts, at least 1,989 households are still in temporary accommodation and 550 homes in the East Riding are still empty waiting for refurbishment.

Despite the high numbers across East Yorkshire, the local authorities have claimed the numbers are being reduced and people are moving back into their homes.

A Hull City Council spokeswoman said: "It is still a lot of people who are out of their homes, but for the first time the number has dropped below 2,000, so we are heading in the right direction."

And although a spokesman for East Riding Council said there was the possibility the figure maybe jumped up on occasions, it was coming down week by week.

Figures revealed by the Mail only a month ago showed this to be true as 1,300 people were still out of their homes on March 25, more than double than now.

However, insurance industry members and flooding experts have claimed it will never be known who is still out of their homes.

Kelly Olster-Coyle, a spokeswoman for the Association of British Insurers, said its members were still reporting more claims.

She said: "Nationally, 180,000 insurance claims have been made and that figure continues to grow, just at a very slow pace.

"We know insurers are still getting new claims in Hull and East Yorkshire and this is as people continue to find their properties have been damaged.

"However, exactly how many people have still not returned is difficult to assess because people are moving back in all the time and others are moving out when damage is found."