Vandals Flooding

Weybridge Vandal's grounds were severely flooded and the borough hardship fund came to the rescue. The borough continues support for flood victims.  Local businesses, community organisations and residents across Elmbridge have been receiving support from the borough to help with the damage caused by the flooding earlier this year. The borough is continuing to offer support through its hardship fund, and will welcome further applications from those still struggling to recover from the floods. The hardship fund is able to compensate for uninsured loss as well as covering other costs caused by the severe flooding this year. Weybridge Vandals is a community amateur sports club who suffered extraordinary damage to their grounds on Desborough Island. Their rugby and cricket pitches were submerged for most of January and February, and as the water began to recede the ground was left with debris and river silt and much of the grass had died off.  This meant that the pitches needed to be treated for contamination, vertically drained, top dressed and reseeded to get them back into playing order again. John Sillwood, Secretary of Weybridge Vandals explained: “The storms and floods this winter were the worst in living memory. While we had insurance cover for the clubhouse, the grounds are not easy to insure. We were very grateful for the timely help from the Council’s Hardship Fund which gave us some cash to start the ball rolling.” The Vandals also received emergency funding from Sport England and the English Cricket Board. As a result, the cricket season was able to start on schedule this May. The rugby season will also be returning as normal in September. The borough encourages anyone that has suffered a loss like this to apply to the hardship fund.  You can find out more about the fund and how to apply here