(October 1984) One day last summer

Many residents of Sibford didn’t need to go to the beach for a paddle early last month – they could use their own gardens, or, in some unfortunate cases, their houses.

As most people will know by now, Sibford was subject to a cloudburst which flooded roads, gardens and houses. The drains were unable to cope with all the water as steps turned into waterfalls, paths into streams and lawns into ponds.

The children all enjoyed it though and donned their wellingtons and had great fun! It was left to the adults to clear up the mess. The debris and dirt left behind once it stopped raining took quite a time to clear.

As one resident said, this was the worst she had seen in 50 years. Let’s hope it’s another 50 before it happens again.

Trish Andrews