Michael and Christine Cooper were hoping to return to their previously flood-damaged home in Brading by Easter, but recent severe weather has dashed those plans once again. The retired couple, who first left the property in January 2023, remain unable to move back in.
Their home flooded twice in 2023, following a serious fire in late 2022 believed to have been caused by earlier water damage.
After spending 9 months living in a hotel, the Coopers returned in September, only to be displaced weeks later when floodwater once again submerged their driveway, garden and bungalow. Structural concerns forced them back into temporary accommodation over Christmas.
At the time, Southern Water deployed tankers to manage sewage and surface water at a reported cost of around £6,000 per day. Residents blamed the persistent flooding on ageing infrastructure, poor irrigation, silt build-up, and the intermittent closure of sluice gates at Bembridge, which they say raises water levels on Brading Marshes during periods of heavy rain.
Now, in January 2026, history has repeated itself. While their home was mid-renovation, floodwater once again engulfed their driveway and garden. Michael visited the property from their temporary accommodation at Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park on Monday morning to find it underwater once more.
Properties at the lower end of Nicholas Close have also seen flooding in their gardens, with wastewater leaking from a nearby Southern Water pumping station.
Although the utility company has not sent tankers on this occasion, it has donated around 50 sandbags, which residents are using to protect their homes.
Brading Town Councillor Paul Garratt has been on the ground, helping residents safeguard their properties and acting as a liaison between those affected and agencies responsible.
All the issues that have caused previous floods, have once again reared their ugly head.
Michael told Island Echo:
“We were hoping to get back into the house just after Easter, but I don’t know if that’s going to be possible.
“Has this done any damage to the foundations of the house?”
On the toll it has taken, he added:
“It’s completely devastating and it affects your mental and physical health. After this amount of time, I’m thinking, ‘am I ever going to get back into my own home?’
“If we do get in, are we going to lie awake every night worrying the house will flood again? I don’t know what to say anymore.
“My wife and I are pleading with everybody to help us. What can we do? When it floods in Ryde or Binstead, things get done – but not here.
“It’s got to the point now where this needs to be looked at seriously by everyone involved.
“The stress of it will kill us. We just have to take it a day at a time.”
Island Echo has contacted the relevant stakeholders for comment.
The island is a beautiful place minus the numpties
but there are so many properties on the island that
are uninhabitable especially with the climate disaster
we are now living in.