Heatwave the answer to victim Sandra's prayers

Like many other flood victims, it is the warmth she has been praying for to help speed up the drying-up process at her flood-ravaged Doncaster home.

Sandra, of Northfield Road, Sprotbrough, is still living with her family in a small touring caravan on the driveway and builders have not been able to start work on restoring their home to the condition it was before the waters arrived.

They have now been in the caravan for around four weeks.

The Burtons – Sandra, husband Steve and sons Craig, aged 21, and Robert 19 – found themselves knee-deep in water at the height of the crisis.

Sandra said: “The cleaning teams from the insurance company have been out and they said there would be another three weeks’ drying-out period still. They are just leaving it to air at the moment, and we’re still waiting for the floorboards to be ripped up. Nothing can be done apparently until we’ve got a drying certificate.

“The sunny weather is what we needed – that has meant that we can open up the doors and really get the air circulating. We’ve been praying for this sort of weather.”

The drying process has been a dramatic experience for the Burtons. This week they were woken up in the middle of the night when the smoke alarms inside their home were set off.

It turned out the cause was smoke billowing from a dehumidifier set up in the lounge to help speed up the drying process.

The machine had overheated and Sandra was concerned if they had not been living so close to their house it could have started a fire.

She said: “To have a flood and then a fire really would have been too much.”

The family have had some good news though – they now have a freezer in the van, which means Mrs Burton no longer has to go shopping every day.

But she is still missing her washing machine and having to make frequent visits to her mother’s house to borrow hers – a necessity she says, with two grown-up sons.

Despite what has happened, neighbours on the flood-hit street are keeping their spirits up. They have already had one street party and plan another party at the weekend at Anchorage Lane Scout Hut.

Sandra said: “We’ve got to keep the community going, because no-one else is going to.”