Wigan dad shares details of his family's dramatic rescue by boat as flood reached their home

Water more than four feet deep swamped homes on Templeton Road, Platt Bridge, before firefighters arrived by boat to ferry the stricken families to the safety of a nearby McDonald’s restaurant.

It also wrecked stock worth thousands of pounds at the Iceland and Home Bargains stores on Warrington Road.

HGV driver Michael Abram, 46, told how he and wife Stacy, 38, and their three children Jack, aged two, Jake, 10 and Bethany, 12, were woken at 6.30am on New Year’s Day by loud banging on the door.

“We were being told that our car was under water,” said Michael. “The fire service were brilliant. They put us in a boat and we were taken to McDonald’s.

“But all the Christmas presents, along with everything on the ground floor of our terraced house, are gone. The water has ruined everything.

“I can’t thank the firefighters enough for saving the urns containing the ashes of my parents Michael and Janet – who both died in 2024 – before the water rose too high. They did a fantastic job.”

The Abrams were among the families who were initially taken to the nearby St Nathaniel’s Church, where volunteers opened the doors to welcome families.

Volunteers Lisa Aldred and Becca Bamber hailed the generosity of the community in donating clothing and food for the evacuated families.

“Even people who themselves had suffered damaged roofs in the storm were donating,” said Lisa. “Although 20 families were evacuated, other homes around Templeton Road have no power. It’s an absolute mess.”

Becca added: “It’s times like this that you see how a community comes together. We’re proud to be living here with these people.”

The Reverend Dot Gosling agreed to open the church as soon as it became clear on New Year’s Eve the flooding would be serious.

The Abrams were given emergency accommodation at the Greyhound Hotel in Leigh and were later rehoused in Ince.

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “The rain came down at about 7pm and by 9pm we were flooded. Everything on the ground floor of our house has been wrecked. It’s carnage in there.”

Damaged household appliances can now be seen in the front gardens of houses on Templeton Road.

He said it was the first time the street had been flooded.

“But the pumping station at the bottom of the street we normally rely on just couldn’t cope with the volume of water,” he said. “It’s the worst storm in my living memory. I’ve never experienced rain like that in my life.”

Residents were put into emergency accommodation in hotels and B&Bs by council bosses.

The manager of the Iceland store, Gareth Lee, was supervising the mopping up operation, saying stock worth many thousands of pounds had been lost in the flood.

“The water was more than two feet deep throughout the store,” he said. “The (last) time there was any kind of flood here was nine years ago, but this is the worst it has ever been.”

He said that 35 of his staff were “pulling together” to try to get the store reopened for the weekend.

“It’s a very challenging time, but we’re doing our best,” he said.