6:54PM, Fri Jun 29, 2012

Tyneside Estate Hit By Floods Twice And A 'Mystery Hole'

By Chris Hoy Location: Newburn

Video: Newburn's flood misery made worse by 'super storm'

The 'super storm' which hit Tyneside has added to the problems facing workers and residents at Spencer Court in newburn.

The residents have been unable to return to their homes for weeks after a flood caused by a collapsed culvert.

Workers have been trying to repair the damage, as more holes have appeared in the culvert, but when the rain hit, the River Dene burst its banks and once again water gushed into homes as pumping equipment struggled to cope.

Cllr Nick Forbes said: “All the engineers I’ve spoken to who have been working on site have said they’ve never seen anything like this in any of their careers.

“At the moment the job is to keep the water levels down, to try to avoid any further damage to the properties and then we can take a proper assessment of the situation and work out how to get the repairs underway.”

At its peak, 7,000 tonnes of water per house were being pumped away.