ONE of the UK’s leading equipment rental services have been using their Newport depot to offer support to those worse effected by floods.

As part of a huge logistical operation to help the UK cope with the damage caused by the worst weather it has seen in decades, thousands of pieces of vital equipment have been transported from Speedy’s inland depots to those on the coast, including the depot on King’s Parade.

The equipment will help communities, hospitals, schools, businesses and local authorities prepare for more severe storms and clean up after weeks of flooding and gale force winds.

Hundreds of vans, some travelling as far as 200 miles, have been mobilised to deliver pumps, emergency lighting, generators and dehumidifying equipment to the worst affected parts of the country.

Operations director Colin Naylor said the decision to launch the biggest logistical operation the company has ever carried out was made to reassure customers that Speedy is well placed to help mitigate damage and disruption.

He said: “Our teams have been working around the clock to ensure our fleet is available for those who need us the most and we’ll continue to do all that we can to protect those at risk. We have also responded to over 500 calls to our ‘In Case of Emergency’ (ICE) number, which provides a 24/7 emergency response service for Speedy’s entire product range as well as on-call expert engineers to make sure we’re there when our customers need us most.”

The majority of Gwent residents managed to keep themselves and their homes safe despite the severe weather on the weekend.