River causes side of house to collapse

Open house ... family home in Cumbria

IT looks like a real-life dolls house.

But this is the terrifying aftermath when the whole side of a house was washed away by a swollen river.
A street has been sealed off after the end-terrace house dramatically crumbled into the rain-swollen River Ehen, Cumbria.
Police said they were considering evacuating other properties in Vale View, Egremont, after the dramatic scenes early this morning.
Thankfully the family who live there had been staying at another property.
The Environment Agency said the river had more than doubled its level from a normal 0.6metres to more than 2 metres in just 24 hours.
The alarm was raised just after 6am when residents were woken by a loud rumble and a splash as part of the house crashed into the river.

And now it's gone ... river gets the better of house

Caters

Stunned house owners Ken O’Hara and Belinda Taylor were alerted by the police after they had been staying in the Black Beck hotel, which they also own.
Ken said: “I couldn’t believe it when the police told me, it’s unbelievable.
“It just shows what can happen. Luckily there was no-one in at the time it happened.”
He said the top two floors of the four-storey home were rented out to Sellafield workers, who were also not there last night as they had been away for the Bank Holiday.

Devastating ... owners tried to rescue possessions

North News

The couple, who live in the bottom two floors, stood watching helplessly as their possessions were battered by raging waters.
They salvaged what they could, building a pile by the water’s edge.
Inspector Phil Davidson, from Cumbria Police, said: “We are trying to determine whether we need a wider scale evacuation of the area.
“There may be the potential for one or even more than one other property to be affected.
“We are working with partner agencies to determine the severity of the structural damage to other properties.”
Catherine Alvino, who lives opposite the house, said she didn’t know what had happened until this morning when she saw the devastation.
She said: “It’s been a horrendous summer and the river had been up and threatening.
“It’s just lucky the house was empty.”
Inspector Davidson confirmed that there have been no casualties reported.
The back of the property affected fell into the river after days of heavy summer rain, which has caused minor flooding at several locations in the county