Last February Angus and Ria Russell from Britannia Lanes of Somerset and Bristol received a call for assistance from a local Facebook group called FLAG (Flooding on the Somerset Levels Action Group).

The organisation was in desperate need to find donations to help the local residents who had been flooded out of their homes by the recent atrocious weather and for a distribution centre to help gather and distribute the supplies. Ria and Angus’s warehouse is only a few miles from what was some of the worst-affected areas so they immediately set about doing all they could.

Britannia Lanes quickly received enough supplies from local businesses and private individuals to fill 350 packing boxes and sent out donations to hundreds of people who were in need of immediate help.  Many of the people were unable to get to the shops because of flooded roads and were fully employed trying to protect their homes from the encroaching water.

 “On Saturday afternoon we started to receive donations of food, blankets, clothing, pet food and toys,” said Angus. “It soon became apparent that the generosity of the local people knew no bounds and we knew we would need to arrange to open on Sunday to receive and sort effects to clear the backlog.  In the end we were on site from 11AM until 4.30 PM receiving many more car and truck loads of effects. For example I had a whole self storage unit full of just duvets.”

The work to clear up the damage and return people to their normal lives will carry long after the crisis is out of the headlines.  For this reason Angus asks movers to look at the FLAG Facebook page for the latest information and to offer help if possible.

Photo: Donations from local people being sorted at the Britannia Lanes office.