A COMMUNITY group leader has pledged to invest £10,000 to repair damage if they are nominated a local flood hero.

Gillian Darbyshire, who is a director of the Whalley and Billington Flood Action Group, has appealed for people to nominate her so she can help to mend the damage from the Boxing Day floods in 2015.

The 50-year-old helped many residents by giving aid, food, information, recycling furniture for local residents.

The winner receives nationwide recognition and will also be rewarded with £10,000 to benefit their local community.

The flood protection worker said: “The reason I want to win this award is in order to fund raise and help people get back on their feet in Longworth Road.

“I want to help them because the road has been in an awful state since the devastating Boxing Day floods of 2015.”

“The drains remained unrepaired and the damaged road is bad for cars parked there.”

Residents in Whalley and Billington are still counting the costs of the floods.

Firefighters dealt with 350 flood-related incidents and rescued 50 people as the Environment Agency put the county on red alert, meaning there was a danger to life.

Cllr Ged Mirfin, who represents the ward at Billington Brockhall & Old Langho, said: “Gillian epitomises the term local hero. She was the president of the Whalley and District Lions during the boxing day floods.

“She found accommodation to replace those lost during the goods and spent the next couple of months in the Whalley helping victims of the floods.

“She applied for a government grant from central government and ended up winning hundreds of thousands of pounds on behalf of the residents and she continues to provide that level of support.”

One of Gillian’s work colleagues, DSM accountants senior account manager Alison Duckworth said: “She has worked selflessly giving up her Christmas and New Year holidays to help people who have been affected by floods. In return the people are very grateful and they have delivered bunches of flowers to the office as a way of saying thank you.”

To vote, visit www.floodre.co.uk/localheroes/. Voting closes on September 18.