An 83-year-old woman who drowned in severe flooding during Storm Babet had no flood defences protecting her home, an inquest has heard.
Maureen Gilbert was found by her son Paul ‘floating in the water’ in her home in Derbyshire on the morning of October 21.
She was one of at least seven people who died as a result of the storm which left thousands of homes without power across the UK.
Maureen had been at her home in Tapton Terrace, Chesterfield, when the nearby River Rother burst its banks.
Assistant coroner Matthew Kewley told the inquest that her cause of death was drowning.
Neil Longden, formerly the Environment Agency’s operations manager for Yorkshire, provided testimony during the inquest where he was questioned about the absence of flood defences near Tapton Terrace, located adjacent to the River Rother.
Mr Longden said: ‘The answer really is you can build something, but someone has to pay for it.
‘There is a feasible solution to the problem but funding, and potentially the planning process, may put that at risk.
Maureen Gilbert, 83, drowned when her home flooded during Storm Babet nearly two years ago
Flood high tide marks were seen over five feet high in Maureen’s front room
Maureen with her husband Jack pictured on their wedding day in an old family photo
‘There are thousands of people at flood risk around the country. You would have that challenge in many locations around the country.’
He stated that Tapton Terrace is prone to flooding due to its low elevation, the convergence of multiple water sources, and the lack of flood defences.
Residents previously recounted how five feet of water rapidly filled their homes on Tapton Terrace after the river overflowed its banks ‘within minutes.’
Mr Longden noted that Storm Babet was ‘one of the most significant storms’ he had encountered, primarily due to the heavy rainfall, mentioning that it was unlike any storm he had experienced before.
The inquest heard that in 2018, a storage reservoir began to be used to reduce the peak flow further down the River Rother during heavy rainfall.
Mr Longden acknowledged that the reservoir was the ‘only significant step’ taken since the severe flooding in 2007 experienced by Chesterfield residents up until Storm Babet in 2023.
Mrs Gilbert’s son told Sky News at the time of his mother’s death that he had attempted to secure her house with flood defences.
He said in October 2023: ‘Everybody on the street did as much as they could on the pretext that the water would come.’
Family photos of Maureen Gilbert and her husband Jack Gilbert seen in her home after the flood
Maureen was at her home in Tapton Terrace (pictured) when the River Rother burst its banks
Sandbags seen at Maureen’s door in Chesterfield after the flood
Flooding devastated the Derbyshire town of Chesterfield,when Storm Babet hit in October 2023
Streets in Chesterfield were washed out while fire and rescue bosses declared a ‘major incident’
Mr Gilbert said at the time of her death that he found his mother ‘floating in the water’ when he forced a window open.
As reported by the Met Office, Storm Babet set the record for the wettest three-day period in the Midlands, leading to the evacuation of around 400 homes in Chesterfield.
The inquest, which is expected to last five days, will continue on Tuesday morning.
Maureen, who neighbours said had barely left the house in years, lived downstairs in the two-story home as she was unable to go upstairs – but waters made their way into her home at ‘chest height’, and she was unable to escape.
Writing on a fundraising page at the time, Mrs Gilbert’s daughter-in-law Kaye said: ‘After a sleepless night, my husband and son found my 83 year old, housebound, mother-in-law, had passed away.
‘She had unfortunately been unable to escape upstairs at the speed the water levels were rising.
‘Not only do we have an uninsured house as the excess for flood damage was over £10,000 to clean and restore but a funeral to pay for all whilst grieving.
‘She lived on the street all her life, rebuilding after the 2007 flood was hard for us and her but this is just devastating. We now only have memories as everything else is gone.
Vehicles were abandoned in Chesterfield as waters began to rise during the storm
Flooding in Retford in Nottinghamshire, after Storm Babet battered the UK, causing widespread flooding and high winds
The River Severn in Shropshire also burst its banks and caused flooding during the storm
‘My husband put his mothers flood defences up to his chest in the doorways and made preparations to secure the house as he has done many times during such weather warnings.
‘However, when the river burst, the water just came pouring over at rapid speed and the defences did very little.
‘The waters were much higher than the 2007 flood and came with a faster flow and pressure which resulted in my husband being stopped from trying to enter the property to check on his mum.’
A heartbroken friend said of Maureen: ‘She was such a character, she was a massive football fan, she was a big Liverpool fan and followed Chesterfield too.
‘I’m devastated, it’s just heartbreaking it could have been allowed to happen. I think questions need to be asked.
‘Surely there should be a central database of housebound residents so they can be made a priority for help?’
