AN ANCIENT Welsh house situated in the Conwy Valley sadly didn't win the battle to stop flooding.

On Tuesday, March 12, Gwydir Castle had to battle with water which came through the old stone wall and badget sett and through the road drain that empties into the site.

A spokesperson for the site said: "Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Government have refused to help us, even though they have protected so many others in the Conwy Valley and they have made the flooding problem worse for us as a consequence of work they carried out in 2007.

"Volunteers have helped us build a sandbag wall. We have filled and laid over 15,000 sandbags by hand along 300 metre perimeter of the garden."

The spokesperson paid thanks to volunteers which had supported them.

They added: "Throughout history, walls have always separated people but Gwydir's wall has brought so many together and we are thankful and grateful to our volunteers for that.

"Out of the negative has come something incredibly positive."

Gwydir Castle is regarded as one of the finest Tudor houses in Wales. The castle was formerly the ancestral home of the powerful Wynn family.

By 1994, the house and garden had fallen into dereliction. Its restoration has taken more than 20 years to complete and is still a work-in-progress by its current owners.

Keith Ivens, Flood and Water Operations Manager for Natural Resources Wales, said: “It is misleading to say that the Conwy valley flood scheme increases flood risk for Gwydir Castle.

“It doesn’t. It reduces the risk and we have shared the data which proves this with the owners of the castle.

“The garden is on the flood plain and has always flooded.

“As we have repeatedly said, we cannot fund further work to protect the castle because flood risk schemes are prioritised by risk-to-life.

“We will continue to target our resources to protect lives, livelihoods and homes, as directed by the Welsh Government.”