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Family Forced To Leave Home After Filling Up Paddling Pool Goes Horribly Wrong

Family Forced To Leave Home After Filling Up Paddling Pool Goes Horribly Wrong

Stay safe this summer

EMS 7

EMS 7

What with the European heatwave showing no signs of slowing, people across the country are finding their own ways of keeping cool.

One family over in Nottinghamshire, for example, decided to whack out the paddling pool and have a mini splash around.

But this seemingly innocent summer time-filler turned into a nightmare when they managed to accidentally flood their entire home. Whoops.

Nottingham Post / BPM Media

Steve Whalley, 32, describes how he was using a hose attached to their kitchen tap to fill up the pool when water started gushing through their ceiling and into their house.

The Mirror reports that water backed up in the hose and had caused the loft tank to overflow.

Steve says nothing like this has ever happened at the property, where he lives with his wife Kirsty Turner, 30, and his six children.

When the water first started seeping through the walls, plumbers were called in to fix the problem, only for the same thing to happen again a couple of days later.

"We were all out in the back garden and the electrics went off. I went upstairs and heard the sound of water," said Steve.

"It was all down the walls, it was all in my bedroom and into the living room. My kid's television, my living room television, all the toys and the carpet (are soaked).

"We have spent £1,000 on new stuff. The kid's bedroom stinks. We don't want to be here anymore.

"It has gone through the light switches and we had to turn off the electrics. It is horrible. We don't know how much is rotten.

"They wanted to put us in a hotel in Derby or Sheffield but we ended up finding our own hotel and going to the Travelodge at East Midlands Airport, which cost £168.

"How were we meant to know that you can't use your tap to fill your paddling pool up. We have never been told, 90 per cent of people in their homes would do that."

PA

To be fair, I've done that plenty of times and it's never led to a flooded house. But apparently it's not uncommon, to the point where Nottingham City Homes is now warning against doing the same as poor Steve and his family.

A spokeswoman said: "We have investigated and discovered that Mr Whalley was using his kitchen tap and a hose to fill a paddling pool outside.

"We would advise against this as the water will back up through the hosepipe and up into the water tank causing it to overflow, always use an outside tap if you have one."

And if you don't, better get your bucket out and get ready to put the graft in. Especially if you have one of these bad boys.

Featured Image Credit: BPM

Topics: Water, Home, Family