COLLECT - Nick near completion of the wall in September 2023. Nick Lupton 'Worcestershire's King Canute' with his flood defence wall around his home in Pixham, Worcestershire. September 9, 2024. Release date - October 6, 2024. Worcester’s King Canute shares his top tips to save your home from flooding after he built a giant 6ft wall around his period property. Retired nuclear power industry engineer Nick Lupton and his wife Annie have retrofitted their 17th house with state-of-the-art flood defences after buying the property in 2016. The savvy homeowner keeps his house dry thanks to a watertight 6ft high reinforced concrete wall topped with a tasteful brick front. The couple's home is along the River Severn in Pixham, Worcestershire and has flooded roughly 11 times in the eight years they’ve owned it. Nick, 60, and wife Annie, 50, began building their wall in May last year after growing tired of the constant water damage. Entrances to the property are blocked with dam boards which slot into concrete posts and stack up to complete the wall. The couple became concerned that the walls of their period property - which the oldest part dates back to the 1700s - were becoming damaged due to constant flooding. (Image: No credit)

The Midlands' flood master shares how you protect your home

Nick Upton, 60, and his wife have been flooded 11 times in just eight years - but he has now built his own defences to stop the tide from reaching his front door

by · Birmingham Live

A man hailed as 'Worcester's King Canute' for erecting his own flood defences to safeguard his £600,000 home has revealed his strategies to "stop the tide".

Nick Upton, 60, earned the respect of locals when he secured his 17th-century abode by encircling it with a barrier and pumps last winter.

Striking aerial images displayed the four-bedroom detached house ringed by rising waters after the River Severn overflowed earlier this year.

Nick and his spouse Annie, 50, acquired the residence, valued at £600,000, in the charming hamlet of Pixham, Worcs. , in 2016, but it's been far from smooth sailing.

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Despite offering breathtaking vistas of the River Severn, their house and garden have been inundated 11 times in just eight years.

With parts of Britain already experiencing flooding following the wettest September on record, Nick, a retired mechanical engineer, resolved to act last summer to prevent further water damage to their cherished property.

He built a robust wall around the 340ft (103m) boundary of the garden.

The structure stands at 4.5ft tall 30cm above the previous highest flood level which was 4ft.

Nick and Annie commenced the wall's construction last May, also fitting dam boards to the front and back doors for added defence.

Since its erection, the wall has held firm against three floods, playing a crucial role in defending the house's integrity.

Nick commented: "For us, the wall has been a complete game changer."

"When flooding occurs, we now have a dry layer of land between the house and the wall giving us peace of mind."

"We had three years with no floods, but then in late 2019 we experienced our first flood and it hasn't really stopped since."

(Image: No credit)

"We have not become keen watchers of the river level gauges and now know when to start preparing for a flood."

In 2020, the couple utilised a government grant to bolster their home's defences against flooding, which included installing barriers on their porches and fitting a puddle pump and pond vacuum to prevent overfilling.

Following their successful DIY-flood defence last year, Nick has penned an e-book offering tips to homeowners worried about potential winter flooding.

His advice includes simple tips such as positioning air source pumps above the water line and installing power sockets higher up on walls. Nick also provides guidance on how to protect property while adhering to sometimes stringent planning regulations.

He stated: "It is important that your neighbours are not negatively affected by your wall, either visually or by flood water being diverted. We live in the middle of a flood plain and our nearest neighbour is over 50 metres away so there were no objections."

Due to the wall's height being less than 2m and the river being 100m away, Nick and Annie did not need to secure planning permission. However, the expense of installing such a large barrier has left them financially strained.

Nick and Annie have likened the cost of their flood defences to that of "a house extension" which amounts to around £35,000. Nick explained: "It's a similar sort of cost to a small extension."

"We fitted some dam boards that you slot into channels and they build up to the height of the wall. They're watertight and take five minutes to deploy. The foundations are reinforced concrete, you have rebar mesh in the base. The blocks are called Stepoc.

"Then you pour concrete into the blocks. The flood barriers slot into place when you need them.

"Because we live so close to the river we needed to take lots of measures to protect our home but it's been worth the effort. It also looks spectacular when we're surrounded by water.

"When it comes to any flood prevention, you have to think about what could happen and put something in place to prepare for that. And keep it updated and maintained. Seals can break.

"One is useless without the other. If we didn't have drainage for our nice wall, the water would come in. without that we could flood. You've got to have a means of pumping out on the dry side."

To avoid being stranded in their 'island' home during floods, the couple also implement practical measures. Nick added: "We don't leave the house because we want to be here just in case.

"If we had a power cut we have the pumps pumping away. We do have a generator but we need to make sure it starts. We also park one car up the road and the other in the garage and always have our chest waders near the door so we can walk outside."

The innovative Great Wall of Pixham is available for download on the floodmary.com website.

(Image: No credit)

Nick's flood advice

1. Elevate white goods on plinths to prevent water damage.

2. Install a non-return valve in the sewer pipe to stop sewage backup into the property.

3. Raise electrical sockets off ground level.

4. Use a sump pump to swiftly remove excess water from your premises.

5. Fit self-closing air bricks, an effective measure against water ingress.

6. Invest in a Kitemarked flood door for robust protection.

7. Opt for kitchen units installed on plinths and constructed with metal or marine ply.

8. Store sentimental, significant items and paperwork upstairs; high value things should be on elevated shelves.

9. Have separate electrical circuits for upper and lower levels to minimise short-circuit risks during floods.

10. Deploy flood barriers externally to safeguard the property.