His home has been wrecked
Emma Slee and Dean Murray, SWNS
21:40, 28 Jan 2026
Billy Vernon
A heart-broken dad whose home was destroyed by floodwater from Storm Chandra is now living in fear it will be deluged again in the next two days following a new weather warning.
Billy Vernon, 39, lost all of his furniture, treasured belongings and even family pets as waist-high floodwater destroyed his four-bedroom rented property in the early hours of yesterday morning.
His family in Axminster, Devon, close to the River Axe are continuing to pump water – which rose a metre at its highest point – out of the house and salvage whatever they can.
But just as they’ve managed to get rid of most of the floodwater, fresh showers are rolling in ahead of a yellow weather warning – sparking fears the home could be swamped all over again.
Self-employed builder Billy, who is sheltering upstairs with his two sons, said: “It will be a sleepless night.
“I’m still trying to get on top of it – and I know that it could happen again in 24 hours.”
Billy’s flooded home
As the threat of more rain leaves Billy on edge, the clean-up has revealed the true scale of devastation.
He said: “All my furniture downstairs is destroyed, including two TVs, table and chairs, all of the conservatory furniture and everything in my kids’ playroom.
“The whole kitchen will have to come out.
“My tools were inside and they are all destroyed now.
“It stinks throughout the house.
“The hardest part for me is seeing my kids’ Christmas presents destroyed.”
Billy, who recently lost his mother, added: “Baby pictures are damaged – and so are my mum’s pictures.”
He said that five of his chickens and four ducks were found dead in the garden after the flooding.
Billy said: “We’ve just moved all of the furniture outside to dry, but it has started raining now, so it’s just getting more and more wet.
“All we can do is put our flood barriers back in place and hope the water doesn’t come over the back wall.”
Billy and his 17-year-old and 14-year-old sons are currently living upstairs with only basic appliances, including a fridge donated by a charity.
Outside, the aftermath is still visible. Billy said: “My ladders are all floating in the river.”
In the wake of Storm Chandra, pictures taken across the Somerset Levels show waterlogged fields and roads.
The neighbouring moors around Glastonbury Tor – usually a patchwork of fields – have taken on a swamp-like appearance as floodwater spreads across the landscape.