Storm Babet: Woman who died in floods named – after son found her body ‘floating in the water’
A woman who died in floods caused by Storm Babet has been named – as her son described finding her body “floating in the water”.
Maureen Gilbert, 83, was found dead in her home on Saturday morning in Chesterfield.
Her son Paul Gilbert told Sky News his mother lived downstairs because she was disabled and he had spent hours putting up flood defences in the hope they would protect her.
But she rang him on Friday afternoon and said there was “water coming in the house”, Mr Gilbert said.
It took him seven hours to reach the property and when he arrived “it was already flooded way too much”, he added.
“The water was nearly up to basically my eyes,” Mr Gilbert said.
“I was hoping she’d got upstairs and everything was alright and that we’d see her the next morning.”
Mr Gilbert said emergency services were unable to enter the property due to the volume of water and planned to return the next morning.
He said he returned to the building himself at 9.30am on Saturday and “came to the window, forced it open and found my mum floating in the water”.
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Why so much rain has fallen on UK
‘People get forgotten down here’
Mr Gilbert said he was “very angry”, adding: “I don’t think there’s enough being done with flood defences.
“People get forgotten down here – nobody got it as bad as we did in 2007 and now this year.”
Chesterfield was badly affected by severe flooding across parts of the UK 16 years ago.
The May-July period in 2007 was the wettest since records began, causing billions of pounds in damage.
Mr Gilbert said people on his mother’s street “did as much as they could” to prepare for Storm Babet, which is estimated to have flooded more than 1,200 homes across England.
“I thought if the flood defence worked, she was safe,” he added.
“For me to have to come and find her myself was upsetting.
“I can’t put it into words what it means at the moment.”
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A police spokesman said: “Investigations are continuing into the cause and circumstances surrounding her death, but it is believed it is related to the flooding seen in the Chesterfield area.”
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said floodwaters in the north of the county have mostly reduced, but warned people to be aware of the debris left behind.
“We are being very vigilant around that and we are moving a lot of resources to the south of the county should any incidents happen there,” area manager Clive Stanbrook added.
Three other people have died since the storm hit the UK on Wednesday, while a search continues in Aberdeenshire after a report of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater.
The Environment Agency has warned major rivers in affected areas, including Nottinghamshire, could be flooded until Tuesday, while train services in parts of Scotland, Yorkshire, and East Anglia remain disrupted.
The first known victim of serial paedophile Richard Burrows has told Sky News he regrets not reporting his assault at the time to save others from “falling into the same trap”.
Burrows, 81, will learn his sentence at Chester Crown Court today after being convicted last month of dozens of sexual offences against young boys.
The judge told him it is “inevitable” he might never be released.
The former scout master had spent 27 years on the run, living in what he called “paradise” in Thailand, after stealing the identity of a friend and fleeing the UK when he was due in court in 1997.
A police photo of Burrows from the 1990s. Pic: Cheshire Police
He was arrested when he arrived at Heathrow in March last year.
The trial heard that Burrows had obtained positions of authority and systematically abused boys from the 1960s to the mid-1990s.
He had worked as a housemaster at a school for troubled boys and befriended other youngsters through amateur radio clubs.
One of those was his first victim, aged 14 at the time in the late 1960s, and now 71.
He told Sky News: “It’s been an awfully long time and after 57 years I’ve got to see the results at the end of it.
“It does actually feel like a weight’s been lifted. You hear that expression all through life, but it’s the first time ever really felt it.”
He described Burrows as a “devious, nasty creature”.
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The man, who cannot be identified as he is the victim of a sexual offence, attended Burrows’s trial and delivered a victim impact statement at his sentencing.
He said he wanted to do this because of the regret he carries to this day.
“I wish I’d said something when it happened because I feel that, in retrospect, if I would have said something, then maybe it would have stopped other people from falling into the same trap that I did,” he added.
“But at that time, at that age, I thought I probably wouldn’t have been believed, and I felt too ashamed and embarrassed and even guilty to even mention it to anybody else. So, I didn’t, and I regret not doing that.”
Photos of Burrows in Thailand. Pic: Cheshire Police
The man contacted police after seeing an appeal for help in finding the fugitive Burrows on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme in 2011. It would be another decade before he was arrested.
He said: “I really begrudge him those 27 years. It’s 27 years and he’s just left a trail of wreckage behind him while he’s enjoying himself.
“It’s a shame he’s not got another 27 years to look forward to in jail.”
Although he was the earliest victim on the indictment at Burrows’s trial, like detectives from Cheshire Police, he believes there could be other victims who have not come forward.
He said: “Personally, I don’t think I was the first victim. I think that he was probably fairly well practiced in the art of what he was doing prior to my meeting him.”
Burrows being met by police at Heathrow. Pic: Cheshire Police
Burrows was initially charged in May 1997 but failed to attend a hearing later that year.
He remained on the wanted list until police using facial recognition software matched him to a man using the name Peter Smith. He had stolen the identity of a terminally ill friend to obtain a passport.
After his conviction in March, judge Steven Everett told Burrows he had caused “untold distress and trauma to the victims and their families”.
The UK has joined US forces in attacking a Houthi target in Yemen for the first time since Donald Trump was re-elected.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the strikes took place on Tuesday as part of the government’s response to Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The ministry said careful intelligence analysis identified a cluster of buildings used by the Houthis to manufacture the sort of drones used to attack ships, located 15 miles south of the capital Sanaa.
RAF Typhoon FGR4s conducted strikes on several buildings using Paveway IV precision-guided bombs.
The planes had air refuelling support from Voyager tankers.
The ministry said the strike was conducted after dark to reduce the likelihood of civilians being in the area.
All the aircraft returned safely.
John Healey. Pic: Reuters
Defence Secretary John Healey said: “This government will always act in the interests of our national and economic security.
“Royal Air Force Typhoons have successfully conducted strikes against a Houthi military target in Yemen and all UK aircraft and personnel have returned safely to base.
“We conducted these strikes, supported by the US, to degrade Houthi capabilities and prevent further attacks against UK and international shipping.”
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Houthis a ‘persistent threat’ to ‘freedom of navigation’
Mr Healey said Houthi activities in the Red Sea are a “persistent threat” to “freedom of navigation”.
“A 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fuelling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the UK,” he said.
“The government is steadfast in our commitment to reinforcing global stability and protecting British working people. I am proud of the dedication and professionalism shown by the service men and women involved in this operation.”
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
US intensifies strikes on Houthis
It was the first time UK forces have struck a target in Yemen since May last year, the ministry confirmed.
The US has intensified its strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis under Mr Trump’s presidency, after his re-election in November 2024.
The group began launching attacks on shipping routes in November 2023 saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
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Footage showing people being pulled from rubble has been released by Houthi rebels in Yemen
The strike came after a Houthi-controlled TV channel claimed a US strike killed 68 people at a detention centre for African migrants in Yemen on Monday.
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