Squad of 44 Royal Marines helps woman rebuild her garden after it was destroyed by flash floods in Devon
- Hilary Pinfold was surprised after a 44 Royal Marines came to help after a flood
- READ MORE: Hailstorms and flash flooding batter southern England
A woman left devastated after floods damaged her village home had some beefy help – from 44 Royal Marines.
Earlier this month Hilary Pinfold’s home, in Newton Poppleford, Devon, was inundated with water when flash floods hit the region.
But after making a wishful phone-call asking for Royal Marines to help in the aftermath, she was shocked when a squad of 44 actually did turn up.
And now she plans to write to ‘their big boss’ King Charles to say thanks.
Ms Pinfold was stunned by the power of the flood – which knocked over walls, damaged a garage, a fridge-freezer and even moved their car.
After making a wishful phone-call asking for Royal Marines to help in the aftermath, Ms Pinfold was shocked when a squad of 44 actually did turn up
Earlier this month Hilary Pinfold’s home in Newton Poppleford, Devon, was inundated with water when flash floods hit the region
Ms Pinfold was stunned by the power of the flood – which knocked over walls, damaged a garage, a fridge-freezer and even moved their car
Speaking at the time, she said: ‘Basically all the water came down off the hills.
‘We’ve got a six foot stone wall and it’s breached the wall and it’s just completely flooded through our house.
‘The garden is a nightmare because we’ve got about eight to ten inches of silt in the garden. I don’t know what we’re going to do with it.’
Ms Pinfold had added: ‘If there are any Royal Marines that can help us I’d be very grateful.’
And two weeks later her wish came true when a squad of Marines from Lympstone training base turned up at her property and got stuck right in.
READ MORE: Terrifying floods ravage Spain’s Mediterranean coast – as hot weather hits UK: Child rescued when mother tries to cross raging floodwaters
She said: ‘All the women of Devon might be jealous I’ve got 44 Marines in my garden.
‘It’s absolutely brilliant. It’s incredible – they arrived at 7.30am. They’ve got a plan.
Ms Pinfold said the marines had ‘worked it all out’, having split the men to work on the front and back garden, digging out the part of the field where the wall was and giving her a proper bank of sandbags.
‘And it’s feeling safer now – which is what we wanted,’ she added.
The nurse said she made a phone call to the local barracks, Commando Training Centre, Lympstone, after a friend suggested they might help.
‘I rang the Marines myself and the result is they came here to help,’ she added.
Ms Pinfold said the marines had ‘worked it all out’, having split the men to work on the front and back garden, digging out the part of the field where the wall was and giving her a proper bank of sandbags
The nurse said she made a phone call to the local barracks, Commando Training Centre, Lympstone, after a friend suggested they might help
‘I’m just very, very grateful – really grateful. Their big boss is actually King Charles so I’m going to write and thank him.
Ms Pinfold feels the marines deserve recognition, adding that their families should ‘all be very proud’.
Matthew, one of the commandos, said: ‘She needed help digging up all the mud that came through from the farmer’s field.
‘The garden looks quite good now but it was quite a mess when we first got here.
‘It was under a lot of mud and we just had to shift it out the way.’
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