A BUILDER whose Whittlesey home was destroyed by floods from a burst water main has called on Anglian Water to pay full compensation.

Ian Hendry’s family have been forced to abandon their King’s Dyke property after it was badly damaged by two feet of water and sewage when septic tanks overflowed.

As his wife and two young children live in a hotel, Mr Hendry has stopped work so he can repair the building but says it will be an extensive job because of damage to the internal wall cavities.

“The damage is really bad and I have put everything on hold while I get it fixed,” he said.

“It is a lot worse than we first thought because the internal walls have got to be taken down.

“I just hope Anglian Water are not going to shirk their responsibilities.”

The company has already said it is “sorry - in big letters” for the disaster which occurred on the afternoon of Monday, January 30, while Mr Hendry was at work.

It has promised to do “everything possible to help the residents get back to normal” but admits the floods caused by a split the length of the pipe have been “horrendous”.

Yet even with Mr Hendry’s building expertise, the 47-year-old thinks it could be two months before he and his family are able to return.

“It depends on the drying out process and you can’t rush that,” he said.

Mr Hendry also said he had taken hundreds of photos of the damage as evidence to pass to Anglian Water.

He says his two living room sofas cost between �6,000 and �7,000 alone, meaning the floods have destroyed thousands of pounds of valuable property.

Time off work to fix the damage will also cost the family dear, Mr Hendry says.