The dam is stable, the reservoir drained and the rains have stopped (for now) – so finally the people of Whaley Bridge have been allowed to return to their homes.
The huge relief operation to save the Derbyshire town from catastrophic flooding has revealed many a hero – like Toby, a firefighter from Essex who helped man the pumps and reduce the dangerously high water levels.
But beyond the emergency services who prevented disaster, a number of stories emerged of some rather more low-key, quintessentially British heroes.
The woman who immediately got a haircut
Karen Edleston was on a mission. Kept away from her home for days – and with a wedding to go to on Saturday – she knew exactly who she needed to call when she was allowed back into town.
“Well, I was desperate to get my hair cut because I’m going to a wedding on Saturday and I didn’t know where I would go if I didn’t come back here.
“So as soon as I realised it was open, I contacted Julian and he agreed to come down.”
Speaking of how it felt to be back in Whaley Bridge, Edleston said: “Very good. It’s excellent.”
Whoever made this banner...
Absolutely excellent punning, well done.
This very proud bookshop owner
Anne Leyland was so chuffed to be the first business to reopen she made herself a jolly little sign so that everyone would know.
Her title may have been a bit contentious though, as it appeared to be neck-and-neck result with the Chinese takeaway next door.
But Anne wasn’t having any of that. She said: “Me and the gentleman next door at the Phoenix were the first to open, but of course, he’s got to cook food.”
Anne also said the evacuation had forced her to make a 40-mile round trip to buy milk.
She added: “It’s ridiculous. But the road is open now.”
The first person back in
No one said it was a race – but that didn’t stop people proclaiming victories all over the place.
While Anne nabbed the business title, Liz McCann wasn’t going to let her moment of glory go unnoticed.
She said: “I was the first person across the line.
“We just happened to be there just 10-15 minutes before so we just thought we’d wait to see if we heard any news.
“And we’re home. That’s what we wanted. We’re all safe and we’re all together so there’s not a problem.
“We’d been on holiday for two weeks and we came back to this so we’ve not gone back yet.”
The wine man
Fixing a dam is thirsty work, but thankfully the manager of local Whaley Bridge business Goyt Wines, Malcolm Swets, has got it covered.
Speaking of the job the workers had done on the dam, he said: “They’ve done a fantastic job, they couldn’t have done any better.
“It’s all been done in a professional manner – they are welcome to a drink if they want one.”
Huzza for Malcolm.
The jogger who stayed behind
Not everyone evacuated Whaley Bridge and a small number of people refused to leave their homes despite the danger.
One such person was Hanna Sillitoe who passed the time by going for a run and taking this eerie video of the deserted town.
The person who found this man’s cockatiel
Missing pets organisation Animal Search UK captured, fed and reunited “hundreds” of animals with their owners after Whaley Bridge residents were evacuated.
One pet rescued and reunited with owners was Joey the cockatiel, who had escaped from his cage as his owners were evacuating their home.
Animal Search UK said: “Our highly trained call handlers in the office received a call on Friday afternoon from a very upset owner, who had been evacuated whilst they were at work. This meant that their hamster and cockatiel were left alone in the house without much food or fresh water.
“The owners were given their 15-minute access time, to go and retrieve their pets but sadly Joey, their cockatiel, had escaped from his cage and was flying around frantically.”
After allowing residents to return home, Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Swann said the danger posed by the dam “which would have destroyed homes and livelihoods could not be underestimated”.
She continued to say further work will be done to determine the damage caused to the dam wall and what the future holds for the structure.