DISASTER struck for the second time in three years when a torrential thunderstorm caused Brook Dyke to flood Mill Cottage at Wath-upon-Dearne on Wednesday morning.

“We’d taken a lot of stuff upstairs on Friday to avoid the expected floods, then brought it down again on Saturday, but we didn’t anticipate this lot until it was too late,” said Andrew Boothroyd, 46, who is calculating a damage bill of at least £100,000.

“I’ve never seen water rise so fast and I couldn’t believe the power behind it. It pushed the front wall out into road.”

After the historic Mill Lane cottage was flooded on April 26 2004 he took precautions by building defences around the property, but the walls and high bankings failed to contain the force of the water.

“The current was so fast that firefighters who came to pump us out had to fasten themselves together,” said daughter Jessica, 19, who is a photographic student and recorded the disaster for her portfolio. “Normally it’s just a trickle but there’s a lot of silt in the bottom of the dyke and it’s not as deep. The power was unbelievable and it rose in the space of ten minutes.”

There was heavy rain late on Tuesday night, but nobody anticipated the thunderstorm which struck at 2am.

“I called the emergency services but was told that they couldn’t send anyone until the water was in the house,” said Jessica.

“I told them it was rising fast and within half an hour it was lapping the worktops in the kitchen and the sink was full of water. The firefighters came with their rescue and diving teams and they were brilliant, but by then it was too late.”

She measured the height at 3’ 6”, which is six inches higher than three years ago. They were able to rescue small items but heavy furniture couldn’t be moved. The new kitchen units were ruined with drawers full of water.

“You just have to get on with it,” said Christine Boothroyd as she emptied everything out.

The dyke runs from Wath Wood, is joined by one from Hoober and skirts Wath-upon-Dearne. It blocked Barnsley Road, flooded the Church of England school field (cancelling sports day), the grounds of the old vicarage and Station Road adjacent to ‘rec bottom’.

“There are no hedgerows, it’s just one big field and the dyke is full of rubbish,” said Christine. “Fly tipping is a problem and we pulled a load of tyres out last week.”