A RETIRED couple who sought refuge on a Canvey caravan park after their home flooded said they made lasting friends during their stay.

Jean Hill, 64, and husband Peter, 61, were left with nowhere to go when their static caravan in Kings Park retirement village, in Creek Road, Canvey, was flooded by a burst pipe.

They were told it would take five weeks to refurbish, and with no other homes available at Kings Park, Jean got in touch with Thorney Bay Caravan Park, where she was offered a home.

Jean admitted they were apprehensive about taking up the offer due to the park’s controversial reputation.

She said: “We were worried.

“People kept saying, ‘you’re going over there where all the druggies are’.

“We didn’t have much choice because we couldn’t afford anywhere else, but I’m glad we went.

“It was nothing like people said. It was lovely.

The couple said staff and neighbours at the Thorney Bay Road park went out of their way to make them feel at home.

Jean added: “Everyone was so nice.

“They lent us chairs, and one of the women let us do the laundry in her machine. It was real community spirit.

“You’re not allowed dogs on the park, but they let us keep our spaniel Molly because they knew she had nowhere else to go.”

The Hills are now back in their refurbished caravan in Kings Park, off Creek Road, but said they will stay in touch with the friends they made in Thorney Bay.

Jean said: “We made some good friends. They’re going to visit us.

“Some of the people there are in real desperate situations. They’ve had their homes repossessed and things like that.

“But they were real down to earth people.”