13 Sep, 2019 @ 17:17
1 min read

British family with two toddlers trapped near Orihuela as police say flooded neighbourhood is ‘inaccessible’

A BRITISH family with two toddlers is ‘trapped’ in a house in Benferri, near Orihuela, as police say the neighbourhood is inaccessible.

The last message Jane Grayson received at 9.30am this morning (Friday) shows floodwaters flooding first floor of building

Jane Grayson, 54, sounded the alarm as the trapped family have not been heard from since 9.30am this morning (Friday).

Grayson said she had given her property to hairdresser Angela Spencer, who is there now with husband Paul and their four children on holiday.

HELP!: Paul and Angela Spencer were last heard from at 9.30am this morning. They have two toddlers and two teenagers with them in Benferri.

“I haven’t heard from them since this morning when they sent me a video of raging floodwaters rising around the house,” Grayson, who owns the property in the Benfis Park urbanisation, told the Olive Press.

“They have four children with them, including two toddlers aged 12 months and two and a half.

“They went out to buy water yesterday, but I have no idea what situation they’re in.

“I imagine the toilets will be unusable and there’s no electricity – they’re going to be in a massive pickle.”

TRAPPED: Floodwaters have trapped residents in the Benfis Park urbanisation since this morning, according to Policía Local

A Policía Local source told the Olive Press the Benfis Park area has been completely ‘inaccessible’ since this morning when the Brazal del Lugar river burst its banks.

The source said the family will still be ‘in the house’ – where he confirmed electricity supplies have been cut.

“The rains have stopped now, but the floodwater keeps coming.”

The south of Alicante has is due to come off a red ‘extreme risk’ alert weather warning, but will still be on orange ‘important risk’ alert until midnight.

Rains of ‘120mm’ are predicted for this evening, according to Spain’s Met Office (AEMET).

FLOODED: The house’s pool has completely vanished beneath the floodwaters

The house in Benfis Park has three floors, including a ‘tower room’ up top which lacks any toilet facilities.

The bottom floor has a hallway, toilets and two bedrooms but is now totally ‘flooded’, according to Jane.

Benferri alcalde Luis Vicente Mateo could not be contacted for comment.

Joshua Parfitt

Joshua James Parfitt is the Costa Blanca correspondent for the Olive Press. He holds a gold-standard NCTJ in multimedia journalism from the award-winning News Associates in Twickenham. His work has been published in the Sunday Times, Esquire, the Mail on Sunday, the Daily Mail, the Sun, the Sun on Sunday, the Mirror, among others. He has appeared on BBC Breakfast to discuss devastating flooding in Spain, as well as making appearances on BBC and LBC radio stations.

Contact me now: joshua@theolivepress.es or call +44 07960046259. Twitter: @jjparfitt

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