Liverpool flood tragedy: Demands for answers after married couple died on Queens Drive

A senior Liverpool councillor has demanded answers from the city council over work being done in the aftermath of tragic deaths in flash flooding on Queens Drive.

After their car became trapped in a flooded area in Mossley Hill last month, Elaine and Philip Marco, sadly died despite a frantic battle to save their lives. Since the pair – 75 and 77 respectively – lost their lives on August 26, the road has remained closed to motorists.

Officials from partner agencies including Liverpool Council have begun their investigation work around the circumstances that led to the Marcos’ car becoming stuck under a vast amount of water.

Cllr Richard Kemp, former leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Liverpool Council, represents the Penny Lane ward in which the incident occurred. The road has since been blocked by barriers to motorists in the area, with questions surrounding the future of the highway and if it will ever re-open fully.

Cllr Kemp said information on developments had been scant and called for Liverpool Council to offer clarity around the situation. He said: “It’s actually causing problems, not close to the site, but the wider traffic network. If they can work on a Friday, why can’t they work on a Saturday and Sunday? I’m sure there are good reasons but they need to tell us. We need to get this cleared up as soon as possible.”

During the opening of the inquest into Mr and Mrs Marco’s deaths, senior coroner Andre Rebello made it clear that any future inquest and the ongoing police investigation will be asking crucial questions of a number of authorities and organisations in order to establish the truth of what happened. Cllr Kemp said in the meantime, he needed more support from the local authority to keep residents informed.

He said: “As the Penny Lane councillor, I don’t know what’s going on and I should know. I’m simply asking what they’re doing.

“I accept they can’t give an exact date but I could explain better to people if I knew what they were doing. Asking people to rely on tweets isn’t good enough.”

Cllr Kemp has also written to leader of Liverpool council, Liam Robinson, asking for further details on why “the weekends are not being used fruitfully to minimise the huge inconvenience not only to my residents but to a large chunk of South Liverpool.” Cllr Kemp’s successor as leader of the Lib Dem group, Carl Cashman, earlier called for issues around the public realm to be resolved in order for a repeat of the Marcos’ death to be avoided.