SHOPKEEPERS in Newport's Skinner Street - including one of the city's oldest shops - are counting the cost of flood damage to their stores, piling on the misery at the end of a difficult year.
Nigel Merrett, owner of Arnold's Electrical, arrived at the shop on Wednesday evening to find "at least two feet" of floodwater had poured in and his stock "bobbing up and down".
He said the floods were worse than anything he had seen during his 40 years at Arnold's - which was established in 1808.
Nigel Merrett, owner of Arnold's Electrical in Skinner Street, Newport, after the December 23 flooding.
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"We've had moments in the shop with a couple of inches of water, but luckily we've been here to sweep it out," he said on Thursday, standing among heaps of waterlogged boxes. "This time we wouldn't have had a chance."
Next door, at the Power Up mobile phone shop, owner Javed Shafi said the flooding had "affected a lot of stock" despite the defences outside his property.
Flood damage at Power Up mobile phone shop, in Skinner Street, Newport
"It's really sad," he said. "We had [flooding] two or three years ago but this time it was much worse. It went over the flood barrier on the front door".
Mr Merrett was at home in Llanwern on Wednesday when his phone rang, with an urgent call to tell him "Skinner Street was filling up with water".
He attempted to reach the shop but found scenes of traffic "chaos" on his way into the city centre, with vehicles on several main roads brought to a halt due to the flooding.
Flooding in Skinner Street, Newport, on Wednesday, December 23, 2020. Picture: Chris Jarvis
Flooding in Skinner Street, Newport, on Wednesday, December 23, 2020. Picture: Chris Jarvis
Footage from Wednesday evening showed the junction of Skinner Street and Upper Dock Street was completely submerged.
To make matters worse, Mr Merrett returned to Llanwern later that evening to find the ground floor of his home had also flooded.
"I feel sick inside but what can you do?" he said on Thursday. "We've got our health.
"We'll try and enjoy Christmas tomorrow. With everything else it's just crazy."
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