THE managing director of a local business said he was left “physically sick” after their workshop flooded due to Storm Chandra.

Wooly Shepherd Ltd, an acoustic panel manufacturer based in Tonedale, was hit by flooding on Tuesday, January 27, leaving two workshops filled with nine inches of water.

Tim Simmons, managing director of Wooly Shepherd Ltd, said he was alerted to the flooding at about 6 am after a resident living opposite the workshops called to warn him that the River Tone, located a few hundred yards away, had overflowed.

Tim and five other employees rushed to the site in an attempt to limit the damage.

Tim said: “When I saw the amount of flooding in the workshop I felt physically sick. It puts an enormous amount of stress onto us.

“We are lucky to have such a great team who came to the site with buckets and various equipment to try and remove as much flood water as possible, but at the end of the day we have a very soggy and smelly workshop.”

The business, which is unable to apply for flooding insurance, flooded two and a half years ago, costing the business £15,000 in damaged stock.

Tim continued: “Thankfully, since the last flood we have kept our stock high up, but our electrics and flooring will probably have to be replaced.”

Wooly Shepherd has two years remaining on its ten-year lease at the Tonedale site, but after experiencing two major floods in five years, Tim said the company may be forced to relocate.

“Unless there is a way of preventing flooding from occurring, I can not wait to get off this site. With the current climate it is only going to get worse.

“We can not keep working here, the stress levels are too high.”