A man under treatment for a chronic lung condition is leading the floods clean-up in Elland.
Ash Sharma, 42, has pneumo pulmonary aspergillosis and needs daily bouts of radiotherapy.
He goes to St James’ Hospital in Leeds for treatment every morning but spends his afternoons helping people hit by the floods.
Ash, who started out in Mytholmroyd last week, has now joined Elland Bridge Flood Group which is helping businesses around stricken Elland Bridge.
Modest Ash, of Cleckheaton, admitted the treatment, which he needs until the end of February, “knocks him for six” but said: “I am not very well but it’s not about me.
“Other people’s needs are greater than mine. I have a nice warm home and cooking facilities. Some people have nothing.
“I will do whatever I can but I am only one person in a chain.”
That chain in Elland was set up by Richard Douglas, 29, of Huddersfield, who said: “It’s amazing how it’s taken off.”
The group was only launched at the weekend but now has up to 30 volunteers. The group has also set up the Flooded with Toys project which has collected hundreds of toys which will be wrapped and given as belated Christmas presents.
“Everybody seems to be concerned about replacing their fridges and freezers but their children have lost quite a lot as well,” said Richard, who hails from Elland.
The group has also secured help from two high street banks. Staff from the NatWest Huddersfield branch helped out wrapping toys on Tuesday and staff from Lloyds in Huddersfield will be volunteering on Friday.
Companies are also coming up trumps. A firm down South has offered 200 kitchen unit doors while waste management company SITA has provided skips and disposal worth £20,000.
On Tuesday volunteers got to work at Project Colt, a charity which sells secondhand furniture to raise funds to help recovering addicts.
The charity’s base at Bridgefield Mills was hit and 100 mattresses were dumped.
Enterprise manager Paul Brannigan said the clean up was well underway but the charity’s two vans had been written off.
The volunteers have set up a ‘hub’ at Woodman Works in Woodman Avenue with goods available for those in need. The most desperate need now is for shipping containers.
“We’ve been offered full kitchens as well as the doors and we need something to store them in,” said Richard. “We have the space for the containers so it’s just the containers we need.”
Richard can be contacted on 07982 824523 and anyone who can help with a van for Project Colt should ring Paul on 07442 504699.
Businesses want people to know they are still open despite the closure of Elland Bridge. There is access from the river side.
