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downsmail.co.uk Get ready nowfor flood risk


ENVIRONMENT specialists are warning residents and businesses to brace now for the impacts of flooding and not towait untilwater is barrelling down their streets. As the onset of autumnmarks the


beginning of the traditional British flood season, Government has launched amajor “PrepareAct Sur- vive” campaign to encourage those at risk to plan for a worst case sce- nario. Under the slogan “Floods De-


stroy, Be Prepared”, Addington- based EnvironmentAgency officers say it’s better to have a plan and not need it, than need a plan and not have it. Stuart Rapson, flood and coastal


risk management advisor at the agency, said: “Now is the time to prepare – not when a flood event has started.” Swathes of Downs Mail’s distri-


bution areas sit in high risk zones. TheMedway, Loose, Len,Water-


ingbury Stream, Bourne, Beult, Teise, East Malling and Ditton Stream,AylesfordStreamandSnod- land Millstream snake across the landscape … and each carries its own level of threat. “There are some areas, like Yald-


ing, where people are aware of the risk because of previous floods,” saidMr Rapson (pictured atAlling- ton Lock). “But others may not be, especiallywherewatercourses flow underground through culverts. The River Len, for instance, runs under Sainsbury’s inMaidstone.” The Environment Agency has mapped flooding potential


in


painstaking detail and says every- one needs to check the extent of the risk they andtheir families face, and


plan accordingly. Thismay include ensuring there areways towarn and evacuate loved ones or vulnerable neighbours, keep precious posses- sions andmedication safe, or install flood proofing, defence and recov- erymeasures at home or atwork. The average cost of flood damage


to a residential property is about £30,000. And with householders likely to be out of their homes for an average of fivemonthswhile they’re repaired, the bill for temporary ac- commodation could top an addi- tional £10,000. Businesses fare even worse, with


the average cost of a flood hovering at around £82,000. Even those not living or working


in a risk area can be rocked by a del- uge, with food and power supplies disrupted, roadnetworks brought to


Driveway boss jailed


THE boss of a concrete driveway companywho lied to his customers and bullied those who complained about his KingsHill based business has been sent to prison for more than three years. An investigation byTrading Stan-


dards found that 54-year-old Arif Choudry, who frontedA Drive For Life, conned 19 Kent victims out of nearly £30,000, including home- owners in Snodland, Coxheath and Maidstone. The director of Wycombe Weld-


ing Limited admitted 19 offences of fraud by false representation and one ofmoney laundering. Maidstone Crown Court heard


Choudry claimedworkwas covered for 15 years, when most victims re- ceived no guarantee.


8 Paperwork gave the impression of


a grand head officewhen, in fact, it was a call centre in KingsHill. When Choudry’s victims com-


plained, they were browbeaten, ig- nored or threatened with court action by a fictitious legal depart- ment. On themoney-laundering charge,


the court heardChoudrymovedthe proceeds of his business between 16 accounts before withdrawing it in cash. Hewasmade bankrupt byHMRC


in 2013, after another companywas prosecuted by Kent Trading Stan- dards in 2013. Sentencing him to 38 months in


prison, Judge Charles Macdonald QC said Choudry was an “aggres- sive and overbearing bully”.


Maidstone Weald December 2018


a standstill and schools closed. But the biggest concern to the au-


thorities is the threat to life andpub- lic health. “There are some incredible forces


involved in a flood,” said Mr Rap- son. “The water can contain any- thing fromsewage and agricultural waste to chemicals.” Amazingly, some people put


themselves in danger by travelling into a flood-ravaged area just to watch the incident unfold. Many don’t realise that fast-movingwater may have destabilised the river banks, making the ground unsafe underfoot, or that they can be cut off as the deluge circles behind them. The Environment Agency says


that just 30cm of moving water can float the average family hatchback, and it only takes an eggcup full of


water in a car’s engine towreck it. Government concedes that, at


present, there is no imminent threat to Kent. But it would only take an intense burst of saturated Atlantic storms to ramp up the risk dramati- cally – like theweather fronts expe- rienced by the county during the winter of 2013/14. Mr Rapson said the agency is al-


ready doing an extensive amount of preparatory work to reduce inci- dents of river and tidal flooding – from building and maintaining de- fences to creating flood meadows, which can take water out of rivers andstreamsduring times of extreme flows. To find flood risk maps and de-


tails of steps families andcommuni- ties can take to stay safe, visit floodsdestroy.campaign.gov.uk.


Police choir’s festive date


THE Kent PoliceMale Voice Choir (pictured) and BoxleyHandbellswill per- form in a Christmas concert at The Vine Church, Boughton Lane, Maid- stone, at 3.30pmon Sunday, December 2. Tickets £9 from Terry Kinsman 01622 730119, Mike Clayton 01622 745342 or email to kinsman@macrolevel.co.uk Proceeds go to charity.


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