One year on: Droitwich

11:30am Saturday 19th July 2008

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No one could have predicted that a street in the middle of an urban town would be flooded with 9ft (2.7m) of water.

Yet that’s what happened in Droitwich High Street which, unlike many places affected, is nowhere near the banks of a major river.

One person certainly not expecting it was Indy Singh, the owner of Droitwich Fish and Chip Bar.

He said: “It started to trickle down the road but we thought it was all right.

“All of a sudden we heard a big crash and the Dilshad restaurant window up the road went and the water was flooding through.”

Mr Singh closed his front door and tried to barricade it but within half an hour the water had reached the doorway and he was forced to flee out of a back door.

He said: “It was devastating really. It took us 11 months to get back on our feet.”

There was a silver lining, however, as the closure enabled him to take advantage of a regeneration scheme, led by Wychavon District Council, to restore the historic High Street buildings to their former glory.

He said: “It’s been restored to what it would have been like 300 years ago.

“It’s gone back to the bay window, the colour is now heritage blue, we’ve had a brand new frontage.”

The flood, which forced the street to close for five weeks, devastated many shops as well as severely affecting trade for those businesses which did not flood.

Mr Singh, aged 30, described how the experience affected him.

He said: “We used up all of our savings. Everything.

“It’s put me a year back on all my plans. We were really struggling to cope at one point but we got through it.

“Two weeks ago, Wychavon awarded me five stars after a food hygiene inspection.

“That tops it off and makes it all seem worth it.”

• In pictures - June 2007 floods
• In pictures - July 2007 floods