By Phil Coleman

Last updated at 13:00, Wednesday, 03 February 2010
 

Seventy west Cumbrian flood victims have expressed an interest in joining what could be mass legal action against United Utilities.

The Workington firm KJ Commons & Co confirmed last month that it was acting for people who feel they may have a valid claim against the company – whose bosses insist they did nothing wrong.

The law firm’s senior litigation expert Markus Nickson has written to United Utilities asking for a detailed breakdown of its actions in the period up to and during the flood on November 19.

Mr Nickson said: “We now have in the region of 70 people who have been in touch with us at the moment.

“Our clerks will be seeing each one individually.

“The group covers just about every group you can think of: people who have houses which are now worth far less, on which they have substantial mortgages; business people whose properties have been damaged; people who now face huge insurance excesses; and people who had no insurance.”

The possibility of litigation has come after United Utilities has faced growing pressure to provide improved flood protection measures.

Some campaigners have urged the company to ensure water levels at Thirlmere are kept up to 3m below the level of the reservoir wall, leaving room for the huge volumes of extra water brought by periods of heavy rain.

After the flood, the company confirmed that Thirlmere had been overflowing since October 27.

In the House of Lords, former Workington MP Lord Campbell-Savours urged United Utilities to put Thirlmere at the heart of flood alleviation.

He asked for “an end to United Utilities resisting reductions in water levels on the dam in high rainfall periods; and an end to the delay in the funding of flood protection measures on west Cumbria rivers, in particular the Greta in Keswick.”

United Utilities later said the flooding happened because of “unprecedented rainfall levels and not because of Thirlmere reservoir”.

A few weeks ago, two senior west Cumbrian councillors demanded a Government inquiry into the flood.

Allerdale Council leader Tim Heslop and Cumbria County Council leader Jim Buchanan have sent an open letter to ministers questioning whether wildlife protection measures made the disaster significantly worse.

First published at 11:27, Wednesday, 03 February 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk