Six months after floods inundated the homes and businesses of people in the Leatherhead area the victims are still trying to piece their lives back together.

Nik Cookson, whose home in Thorncroft Drive, Leatherhead, was flooded-out, said they remain in rented accommodation because their home is still "unliveable".

Mr Cookson said: "It knocks six bells out of a person physically and mentally it takes you a long time get back from it. It’s a very earth-shattering thing."

He said no-one has dealt with damaged river banks, the river had not been dredged and he was not aware of any extra flood defences.

He said: "You could say that nothing has happened locally. I don’t see anything being done now that will make a blind bit of difference."

The repairs to their house only started last week and they are incorporating flood prevention measures. He said: "You can’t make a house a boat but you can make it more flood-proof."

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Andrea Norbury, owner of Thorncroft Stables

Racehorse rehabilitation centre Thorncroft Stables was repeatedly flooded and firefighters had to rescue a pony there on Christmas Eve.

Owner Andrea Norbury said: "We have pretty much come out the other side of it. We have still got repairs to fences and maintenance to do.

"It’s a strain but we have got a great team. We have all chipped in. A beautiful amount of people got in touch and we had lots of donations."

When asked about next winter, she said: "I don’t know how you could be prepared for it. I do not have any answers on why it happened or why it was so bonkers so quickly."

She believes not enough has been done by the councils and Government over the flooding and worries about plans to build more homes in the greenbelt.

She said: "I have had no-one come round to me or say let’s see what can be done. I think it has sort of been put to one side now."

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Indra and Martin Starnes are rescued from their home by boat

Indra Starnes, who had to be rescued by boat from Thorncroft Drive on Christmas Eve, said they had lost their house, two cars, pet minding business and Christmas in the floods.

Mrs Starnes said: "It's a bit like living in limbo until you can put your life back together again at home. There's so much to sort out."

She said they have been renting in Hersham and investing in making their home as flood-proof as possible.

She said: "It's a huge amount of money but you can't afford not to. We want to be able to sleep at night when we move back home.

"The work involved in reparing the house is unbelievable for water that came in for 24 hours."