NUMEROUS residents of Cardigan have been devastated by their homes being flooded, but spare a thought for a man and his elderly mother who have been flooded out EIGHT times.

When Natural Resources Wales last month issued flood warnings because of an expected month’s rainfall in 24 hours, 49-year-old chimney sweep Idris Jones and his 82-year-old mother Owena of lower St Mary Street feared the worse.

Fortunately on this occasion there was no flooding in the town.

Severe flooding in the town occurs when a high tide coincides with persistent heavy rain and a strong wind blowing from the Teifi Estuary.

Since Mr Jones and his mother moved into St Mary Street in 1986 their property has suffered severe flooding and although Mr Jones has tiled the whole of the ground floor, the risk of further devastation is never far away.

The NRW is committed to installing a barrage between the old Cardigan road bridge and the hospital, but this has been delayed and work on the project is unlikely to start in the immediate future.

In the meantime Mr Jones, known locally as ‘Idris the Sweep’ and his mother continue living with a threat hanging over them.

Mr Jones said: “It is always there and not allowed to leave your mind – it is as harmful as the actual flooding.

“The NRW said that last year’s flooding was due to a high tide, but the high tide was not until the following day."

He explained that their home does not have the benefit of insurance to cover flooding because the cost of a premium is prohibitive.

“We can’t afford the premium and on top of that the house is unsalable, so we are stuck here with a constant threat of flooding,” he said.

He believes the problems have been caused by silting of the estuary.

Mr Jones said: “We have been told that it would be far too costly to dredge the estuary, but much of the cost could be recovered by the sale of quality sand.”