A SWANSEA Valley community has come together to help each other out after heavy rain caused flash flooding.

Properties in Ystradgynlais were flooded last week and one resident was left high and dry due to insurance – until one kind resident came to his aid.

The resident, who does not wish to be named, had been restoring a 200-year-old home in the area when the floods hit.

Unfortunately he was not able to get insurance cover for the building due to it being uninhabitable because of the restoration.

The homeowner faced a large clean-up bill as the ground floor rooms were filled with cold, dirty water.

But Jerry Gibbs, who lives in nearby Ystalyfera, came to the rescue and used his own expertise to help.

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Mr Gibbs is an expert on the use of dehumidifiers to restore flooded buildings as he is a technical advisor to international dehumidifier manufacturer Ecor-Pro.

On Monday, after the water had receded, he assessed the building and found the floor screed and the walls – which had only recently been plastered – were saturated.

“I brought in an Ecor-Pro EPD 100 refrigerant dehumidifier that I had at home and set it up to begin drying the walls,” Mr Gibbs explained.

“Because the air was cold and damp, I rigged up a plastic tent so that we were only drying the fabric of the building, not the surrounding air.

“It was good to see so many members of the community doing what they could to help their friends and neighbours cope with the aftermath of such utter devastation.

"He was hoping to move his family into the home by Christmas; fingers crossed that’s still a possibility.”