‘It’s what’s so special about Guernsey and our community’

Tradesmen, firemen and keen helpers responded to a DIY SOS call at Lihou Island this weekend.

Dozens of volunteers flocked to the island the minute the causeway re-opened since Storm Goretti. Over a two-and-a-half-hour time slot, significant efforts were made to help with damage recovery.

Fire and Rescue watch commander Alex Clark was joined by his fire chief and young family.

Son William, 4, watched in awe as his dad pitched in to help fellow volunteers patch up the roof of Lihou House.

‘This is what makes Guernsey so unique,’ said his partner Nicola Gibbons.

‘When something like this happens, everyone comes together.

‘We come to Lihou Island quite a lot with our friends and family.

‘I think it’s really important for our four-year-old to learn that he’s part of a community, and when things like this do happen, then we should be helping – we’re part of it. It’s heartbreaking when you see it damaged like this.

‘But then, you see how – with everyone’s support – it’s actually getting fixed really quickly.

‘It’s brilliant to see people from all walks of life just wanting to help out. It’s what’s so special about Guernsey and our community.’

The house has sustained significant damage to its roof and some water inset, but no loss of power.

Until more permanent repairs can be made, groups of volunteers joined forces to clear the area and make the house as wind and watertight as possible.

Mr Clark said he tried to rally more troops from the fire department, but that a lot were still recovering from copious Christmas Tree and fallen tree collections.

‘But we’ve got our chief fire officer up there on a ladder,’ he said.

‘We were more than happy to come and help. We noticed the scar across the house as soon as we arrived, where all the tiles have slipped. Really sad to see. It’s an awesome facility here, for the schools and everyone, so it’s great that loads of people have come.’

Lihou-lover Susan Banfield has been to the island nearly 50 times. She said she knew her way around the house’s kitchen, so decided to come over and make big pots of warming soup for the hard-working volunteers.

‘It’s no problem at all,’ she said.

‘Everybody’s been thanking me, and this is just lovely, a very community event. There’s about 10 of us who are part of a group called Ladies Who Love Lihou, and we all come over for trips. I was really quite emotional walking over this morning. I just love it here.

‘I’ve had birthdays, New Years, all sorts over here – I could write a book on it. It’s a special place.’

Stuart Harrison, company secretary of the Lihou Charity, said he was grateful to see so many tradespeople among the hands-on volunteers at this initial recovery party.

‘It’s been great to let the professionals get up on the roofs,’ he said.

‘They’ve got the expertise to get up on the ladders and properly repair. It’s made the job so much easier to do in this limited time slot.

‘Everybody else has been chipping in, clearing up the debris and slate. Hopefully scaffolding will go up next week, and we’ll be moving forward, we hope, with the insurance claim.

‘The residentials are so important to the schools, to enable kids – often for the first time – to come over without their family, and experience the joy of Lihou. The quicker we can prep the house and the area for the major renovations, the better. That’s the purpose of today.’

Keen fisherman Simon De La Mare had brought along his ex-roofer skills to fix-up one of his favourite bass fishing spots. It had been his first time back on a roof in 11 years.

‘I didn’t like it,’ he said.

‘But you don’t forget your skills. I can’t believe how unlucky they’ve been to have every dormer side hit.

‘It’s so exposed though, so no matter how good the roof is, a gale like that is just extreme – it’s gonna cause damage.

‘I regularly come fishing over here in the dark, and got to know the warden, Steve. When I saw the damage, I told him “I’m on my way”.’

He was joined in the kitchen by carpenter Dan Alderton, both fuelling-up on Mrs Banfield’s soup.

‘What else is there to do on a Sunday?’ he said.

‘I’ve come over to measure up, looking at some of the upstairs work. We’re going to have to come back, we’ve only done temporary repairs but hopefully we’ll limit some of the damage.

‘A lot of the volunteers here don’t actually know each other, but they’ve come together and been a good team to work with. Everyone’s wanting to help, they’ve been happy to take instructions, it’s great.’

Anyone wanting to donate to help fund repairs can visit https://giving.gg/donate/charity/162/The-Lihou-Charity-LBG.