A young farmer was left more than £1 million out of pocket after his fields were inundated by eight-foot-deep water when a river burst its banks.
Henry Ward, 33, and his heavily pregnant wife Emma are expecting their first child together this month, but instead of excitedly preparing for the big day, the farmer is worried about how he will support his family.
Despite living almost 45 miles from the coast, his farm in Lincolnshire has been an island accessible only by boat for the past six months, an experience he described as “soul destroying”.
He lost £35,000 overnight in October last year when the Barlings River Eau burst its banks in two places during Storm Babet, flooding his farm and destroying his valuable crops of wheat, rapeseed and peas.
Today, the fields his family has farmed for 70 years remain flooded and he faces a year without a harvest, meaning he will lose more than £100,000 in income.
Meanwhile, the £1 million house he rented on the farm was left “worthless” and its tenant was forced to evacuate due to flooding.
The heartbroken father-to-be told MailOnline the last six months have been “horrible” and “soul destroying”. He is now pleading with the Environment Agency to abandon “warm words” in favor of some action.
Father-to-be Henry Ward, 33 (pictured with wife Emma), was left £1million out of pocket after his farm flooded.
Their farm has become an island surrounded by water and the only way to get to it is by boat.
Mr Ward’s farm first flooded in October (pictured) but the water remained for six months, ruining his crops.
He has also made the million pound house he rents “useless”. Pictured: Mr Ward in his boat with the farm and house behind him.
In some places the water is eight feet deep. By going a full year without a harvest, Mr Ward will lose £100,000 in income.
However, just around the corner is the Environment Agency’s “bone dry” flood reservoir (pictured behind Mr Ward), which was supposed to save businesses from flooding.
He said: ‘It’s very frustrating. That’s Grade One soil: you can grow anything on that land, but it’s too risky to grow it now.
“I can’t make a living with [the farm]. Ruined fences, debris all over the farm, the soil will be dead. It will take a lot of work to get that land back into farmable condition.
‘It’s heartbreaking. Every day you look at it and think, “How am I going to make a living and support my family?”
“Mentally it has been horrible. It has lasted months.
‘Let’s see this more often. Climate change is coming. We need to set something up correctly.’
Mr Ward’s farm first flooded in 2019, prompting the Environment Agency to spend £3.5m repairing the riverbank.
That same year, the Environment Agency proudly declared that it had been operating flood reservoirs that could hold more than 210 million cubic feet and protect 7,000 homes and businesses in Lincoln.
The plan was to divert flood water from rivers to the field designated by the Environment Agency.
However, when push came to shove in October last year, the Environment Agency’s flood reservoir was still “completely dry”.
Instead, the river overflowed into Mr. Ward’s fields and those of his neighbors before the threshold set by the agency to open the floodgates was reached.
He said: “It happened again four years later. This time it has happened worse because there are two gaps in the river bank.
‘There is a mile of this river that is completely ruined by these floods.
‘They will have to spend more than £3.5m if they want to get him back. “It is clear that this is not sustainable.”
Henry Ward, 33, and his heavily pregnant wife Emma are expecting their first child together this month, but instead of excitedly preparing for the big day, the farmer is worried about how he will support his family.
The tenant living in his million-pound home on his farm was forced to evacuate in October due to flooding.
At its peak, flood waters covered about 2,000 acres of fields owned by “six or seven” farmers.
Ward told MailOnline: “It’s heartbreaking but we have to think pragmatically.”
At its peak, flood waters covered about 2,000 acres of fields owned by “six or seven” farmers.
One of Mr Ward’s neighboring farmers is Henry Moreton, vice-president of the Lincolnshire National Farmers’ Union.
Their farm was also flooded during Storm Babet.
He said: ‘If I was on my farm two days after Storm Babet, I would need a snorkel.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
Almost a third of Lincolnshire is below sea level, but that area also produces a quarter of Britain’s fruit and vegetables.
Last week Ward met Environment Agency boss Alan Lovell to try to find a solution to the flooding that helps everyone.
He said: “It still looks like an inland sea.”
‘We’ve saved thousands of businesses and homes from flooding, but we can’t do it for free.
‘It’s heartbreaking, but we have to think pragmatically.
‘I am trying to work with them, but it is painful to deal with a government organization.
‘We need to think outside the box. The time for warm words is over. We need to work a little.
‘Why don’t we come up with a plan whereby the Environment Agency allows this land to flood in a controlled way, paying landowners to do so, preventing businesses and homes from flooding?
“Let’s think together and use it as a public good to improve flood resilience in the local area.”
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: ‘We fully recognize that our farming communities have been particularly affected by the winter storms and the damage they caused.
‘The flooding of farmland unfortunately occurred due to damage caused to the embankments by the winter storms.
‘We are working with affected landowners to drain flooded areas using portable pumps across the Lower Witham catchment and repair damaged embankments.
‘We are also agreeing proposals which will implement a temporary repair to the Barlings Eau River, subject to weather conditions.
“We will continue to work with the local farming community to address any concerns they raise.”