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England
'The council have gone off on their holidays': Angry flood victim confronts Cameron
A woman in the village of Yalding told the British Prime Minister she had been left stranded, and that there were no officials available to answer the phone.
AS IRELAND BEGINS the clean-up following another large-scale storm overnight — in the UK, they’re still picking up the pieces following the floods and storms earlier this week that blighted Christmas celebrations for thousands.
Prime Minister David Cameron was confronted by an angry victim of those floods as he visiting the village of Yalding in Kent earlier today — she told him in heated on-camera exchange that she had been left stranded in her home without electricity.
“We still have no electric. We need electric. As I say, the council, from Monday, we have been trying to contact them, but they have all decided to go on their holidays. Nothing.”
(Youtube: Emre budu)
The prime minister appeared rattled and tried to defuse the situation by promising to contact the local council himself.
The floods were “tragic events”, Cameron said, and he pledged that the authorities “have got to do more and we have got to do better”.
Around 13,000 homes were still without power across Britain today, according to the Energy Networks Association. Low-lying parts of the London commuter belt towns of Dorking, Leatherhead, Guildford, Godalming and Tonbridge have been particularly badly flooded.
Additional reporting, AFP
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