The Fane Clinic was hit by flooding that appears to have resulted from blocked drains in Paston in the last few days.
Neighbouring properties first reported problems with water flowing from the drains into their homes on Thursday (February 18) and this continued throughout Friday and the weekend.
Drains began to overflow behind The Fane Clinic, which is based in the Grade II listed Old Farm House building in Paston Ridings, on Friday evening into Saturday.
By Saturday morning, when the problem was discovered, two of the back foot care rooms had been left completely water damaged, along with the specially designed chairs inside of them.
Several staff members at the family run clinic tried to get hold of Anglian Water and were infuriated to be told that it could be up to five days before they could get anyone out to look at the problem.
Clinical Manager Stephanie Burton said the clinic had been able to reopen, she said: “My mum went in on Saturday morning to find water seeping through and the two back rooms completely damaged.
“We called in some handymen to help us clear up the inside and place sandbags around the doors but by then of course the damage was already done.
“We had to get electricians in too, they were friends but it’s still an extra cost and for a business that has already been affected so much by Covid, it just feels like another blow.
“We have done our best to make sure we able to open again because, at the moment, we can’t afford to have time off work.
“We have upstairs Sports Therapy and Hydrotherapy rooms so they were unaffected, the reception area has become a footcare room, we have a new chair coming on Wednesday and fortunately we have a side entrance that clients can use.
The clinic specialises in a range of treatments from injury rehabilitation, podiatry, chiropody and massages and has been allowed to remain open throughout the pandemic with necessary precautions in place where possible.
The worry now though is that the rooms affected by flooding are going to need all new floors, walls and equipment and it could be months before the clinic returns to full working order.
The frustration of this has only been heightened by what Stephanie believes to be a delayed response from Anglian Water.
She added: “When my stepdad phoned he was told it could be up to five days before anyone came out. I desperately tried to get in touch with them through social media and in the end was given a number for someone to contact through a friend who works there, only to be told there was very little they could do.
“When I contacted them for a second time when I saw the drains overflowing again on Saturday evening, they promised someone would be there at 9am on Sunday morning and to their credit they were there at 8am and things do seem to be ok for now.
“It’s really worrying though because we’re left thinking what if it happens again and to even get them to come I had to wait on the phone for 47 minutes, it does make you wonder what may have happened if it wasn’t for knowing the right person and if they had gotten there quicker.”
An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “Our teams were called out this weekend to clear a large sewer blockage in Paston, Peterborough which obstructed the flow of the network and caused some localised flooding in the area.
“Our teams attended quickly and spent the weekend removing the blockage and completing a thorough clean-up of the area after discovering a high volume of unflushables.
“We will soon be completing a CCTV survey of the sewer pipes to ensure there is no debris left in the pipes and to ensure they are working as they should.”
