A SHOCKED mother-of-four told of her despair as water swept through her home when flash floods struck Bournemouth.

Charlene Barber told how water flooded into the ground floor of her terraced house, in Northcote Road, rising rapidly to more than a foot deep in just 15 minutes.

The 32-year-old said the towels and sheets she and her four children, aged between two and 12, used in an attempt to stem the flood proved completely ineffective as the water spread into her dining room, kitchen and living room.

Ms Barber and her children evacuated the house, where the family has lived for five years, through a ground floor window and were then taken in by their concerned neighbours.

“I am still in shock,” she said. “I was upset at first because it’s my house and all my stuff is in there.

“At least we’re all OK. I was just so shocked at how quickly it rose.

“I’m only 5ft 7in and it was up to the middle of my legs in just 10 to 15 minutes.

“When my boys first came to tell me water was coming in under the front door it looked like someone had just emptied a bucket of water on the floor and then within minutes it was up to the stairs.” The housewife said it was too early to assess the damage, and although the water receded within half an hour, the carpets and walls appeared badly stained and there was a lingering smell.