'Everything is destroyed': the residents facing financial ruin after Merseyside's flood defences failed yet again

After a deluge over the new year, locals in St Helens thought they were protected - but instead they have been left with a massive clean-up operationAt about 3.15am on New Year's Day, Caroline McClymont looked out of her bedroom window at the Sankey brook over the road. It looked a bit fuller than usual - to be expected, given the rain. "But there was nothing out of the ordinary," McClymont said. "There was no indication it was going to flood."Within an hour, the whole street was under water. The home McClymont, a science lecturer, has owned with her husband Alan, a technician, for 31 years was filled with dirty water, higher than the kitchen countertops. It covered the sofas, washing machine, Christmas tree, everything on the ground floor. The neighbour's car was submerged. "Everything is destroyed. Nothing could be saved," McClymont said. "It'll take six, seven months to get right again. Continue reading...