Floods were the death knell for Valley business

Valley Electronics, at Bridge End, struggled to recover after the notorious 2012 floods, but was devastated once again as torrents swept through Calderdale on Boxing Day.

Owner Mark Libotte, 63, said: “We’ve been here for 33 years, so it has been a big move. After the 2012 floods we couldn’t get insurance cover being that close to the river and electrical good are also classed as high risk.

“We lost about £25,000 worth of stock and we did manage to get the business back up and running and slowly started to replace things.

“Its taken us all this time to get back on our feet and this time it has been even more devastating than in 2012. We had over 6ft of water in the shop and it just devastated everything - we have lost even more stock.

“It has been difficult, it’s the place you go every day to work and you don’t think you’re going to miss it, but you do.

“We had great support from the local community and we could not have done it without them. You sometimes feel like you’re letting them down if you don’t open up again.

“But since the last floods, nothing has really been done. There’s been a lot of talk but no action and it has been even more devastating. I just hope that authorities will do something.”

Although the shop will not reopen, the building will become part of new bar, The Libertine. And despite the heart-wrenching decision to close the shop, Mark will continue to offer vacuum service and repairs, with free collection and delivery, plus television and equipment installation.

He can be contacted on 0777 620 7410. l Do you have a flood story to tell? Email [email protected]/[email protected]