A family have been left devastated after water flooded their home and destroyed everything they owned.

Angela Cox and her children Sophie, 10, and Ollie, two, were forced to move into emergency accommodation after they returned to Sheppey to find their home awash.

She says the disaster happened last Wednesday when Southern Water restored supplies after a pipe burst left Islanders with dry taps for 48 hours.

Single mum Angela, 36, had taken her children to Faversham’s outdoor swimming pool for a lunchtime dip to keep cool in the hot weather.

She said: “The kids were off school and nursery because there was no water. They hadn’t showered or anything so I thought I’d take them to the pools and use the facilities. We left home at 1.30pm and left Faversham at 4pm.

“We got stuck in traffic getting back on the Island, caused by the water situation, so I went to a friend’s house in Ashford instead."

When they finally returned to Sheppey at 7.30pm she was greeted by "torrential raining, like monsooning, inside my entire house" at her home in Minster’s Thistle Hill estate.

She said: “We couldn’t stand in the house without being rained on. There was a three-inch deep puddle downstairs and water was coming through the light fittings.”

Angela says she is devastated at losing everything she has worked for.

“To make everything worse, I haven’t got contents insurance so I’ve lost it all: all my kids’ toys have gone; all their photos and photos of my grandparents who are no longer here, all gone.

“I’ve lost all my furniture; everything from my toaster and microwave, to my fridge/freezer, sofa, absolutely everything.”

She added: “This is what I’ve worked for over the years and it’s all gone. I’m heartbroken.”

Angela has, however, been blown away by the kindness of her friend Kieran Sage who set up a fundraising page to help her through the ordeal.

She said: “This has probably been the most stressful time of my life: no water, a flood and a heatwave. But the fact Kieran has done this for my family is just beautiful.”

She added: “I’d like to say thank-you to everyone who has reached out, sent a message, shared the page or donated. It’s amazing. I can’t thank them enough.”

Pal Kieran said he wanted to try to "take the sting out of everything Angela and her children have lost” by setting up the fundraiser.

He added: “Years and years’ worth of items have been damaged, and all the kids’ items have been soaked beyond being saved. I’m hoping for us to pull together and raise some funds to help restore everything what she and the kids have lost.”

So far, the fundraising page has raised £1,260 for the family, who has had to move into emergency accommodation from their rented home.

One week on, Angela still does not know how the flood happened but believes pipes burst under pressure water was turned back on again.

Southern Water was due to assess the situation this week.

A Southern Water spokesman said: "As per Ofwat’s supply standards, water pipes within the home are the responsibility of the homeowner.

"However, we have made arrangements with the property owner for one of our team to visit and inspect the property. We will meet the owner to see if there is anything we can do to support them."

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