SUMMER flooding brought misery to households and businesses across the UK.

But a Huddersfield firm has been instrumental in cleaning up the mess – working flat out over several months on behalf of insurance companies to make properties habitable again.

Now Advanced ChemDry is braced for a winter of burst pipes after its hectic summer.

Advanced ChemDry was among specialist clean-up companies drafted in to dry out houses, shops and other buildings which suffered flood damage over the summer months.

Owner Darrel Sykes said: “We were busy for most of the summer in the Calder Valley, which had three separate flooding events. The river Calder overwhelmed the flood wall in Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd while Todmorden was affected when the canal burst its banks.”

Once the flood water retreated, Darrel and his team brought in equipment to dry out premises including shops and homes.

The biggest property they tackled was the Valley Health Centre in Hebden Bridge, where the baby clinic in the basement of the building required cleaning and sanitising with special chemicals.

“We were two months drying out properties,” said Darrel. “We ended up with 30 to 40 houses and half a dozen commercial premises, including an accountancy firm, the Rope and Anchor pub in Todmorden as well as a spiritualist church.”

Unusually, moorland farms and cottages were also affected as heavy rain ran off grazing land already saturated by previous downpours.

More recently, the team – which includes Darrel’s stepson Jack – were called to St Asaph and Abergele in North Wales to tackle flood damage to a number of properties. One property was left with water four foot deep after flash flooding turned a beck at the back of the house into a raging torrent which burst through the kitchen door.

Darrel said summer flooding was becoming a more regular occurrence, adding: “Since 2005, we have travelled the UK tackling flood damage. In 2007, it was particularly bad and we were working in Hull and Sheffield as well as Warwickshire. Two years ago, we were in the north and Midlands.”

Darrel said Advanced ChemDry was now settling into its “bread and butter” business of dry cleaning carpets and upholstery in the run-up to Christmas – but was also expecting call-outs to tackle the aftermath of flooding caused by burst pipes as night temperatures plummet.

Darrel achieved fame in 2006 when he and head technician David Clapperton featured as the “Disaster Duo” on the BBC1 programme Disaster Master.

The company, formed in 1992 has its offices at Dalton, but has also expanded to occupy a 250sq ft unit at Heath House Mill, Golcar.