A senior Liverpool Council officer said it "regrettably" took fatalities for the local authority to take action on an area which it had clear knowledge of previous flooding. Andy Bithell said a threat to life was not considered around where Elaine and Philip Marco died despite four prior flooding incidents in a three month period during the same year.
Mr Bithell, head of highways management, gave evidence on the third day of the inquest into the death of Mr and Mrs Marco in August 2023. The much-loved grandparents died when their Mercedes car became submerged in flash flooding under a railway bridge in a section of Queens Drive in Mossley Hill.
They were just a few days away from their 54th wedding anniversary when the tragedy happened. The inquest also heard how Mr Marco also attempted to gain help through his car's SOS system.
Mr Bithell became Liverpool Council head of highways management in January 2024. Before he read his statement, he addressed the Marco family directly in the public gallery.
He said: "On behalf of myself and as the chief executive did, I'd like to express my sincere condolences on behalf of myself and my team at Liverpool City Council." Mr Bithell added: "I would also wish to assure them that the council fully supports the coroner's efforts to examine the events and circumstances around the tragic events and learn from them in future."
Mr Bithell confirmed how gullies around the road are managed by the city council while the combined public sewers are owned, operated and maintained by United Utilities. He detailed how prior to the Marcos' death in August 2023, four incidents of flooding occurred on Queens Drive between May and July when vehicles became stranded and people were rescued.
One occasion in June was described as a one in 412 year event. A vehicle became stuck and its occupants were rescued.
In the aftermath of a third event, Mott McDonald were appointed to conduct an independent report into the causes. This considered the primary reason to be hydraulic capacity issues and a surcharge of the existing combined sewer network caused during heavy rainfall.
It said the sewer network in the area cannot cope with the volume of water that falls in a short period of time. Mr Bithell said 12 days before Mr and Mrs Marco died, the gullies had been cleaned by the local authority and were subject to a six month cleaning regime.
Asked by Andre Rebello, senior coroner, about the installation of radar sensors after the August 2023 flood, Mr Bithell said they are triggered by 125mm of standing water usually when the water exceeds kerb height.
The highways chief told the coroner how this technology had become available to local authorities in 2018 for consideration. A search of the council's systems said 18 flood reports had been logged for Queens Drive between January 1963 and September 2023 while a further 11 events recorded blocked gullies.
Mr Bithell said after the fatal incident there was now "much better collaboration" between the city council and the water company. His statement set out how in June 2023, amid ongoing flooding, 12 tonnes of silt had been removed by United Utilities but the company had not indicated there was still a problem at the location.
Following the Marcos' death, a further 18 tonnes were removed but according to Mr Bithell's statement, United Utilities said this would not resolve the problem and the road would continue to flood.
On the night in question, a yellow weather warning for rain was issued by the Met Office but Mr Bithell said this does not always result in a road closure. The environment agency radar also indicated more than 80mm of rain per hour between 8pm and 9pm on August 26, describing it as "approaching monsoon intensity."
A Queens Drive emergency plan was produced on a multi agency basis following the Marcos' death with gully sensors installed by December of that year. Mr Bithell wrote in his statement that he was of the view that the steps taken prior to the flooding that killed Mr and Mrs Marco were sufficient.
In a supplementary statement, responding to questions from the Marco family, Mr Bithell said it was agreed in July 2023 signage was needed but not on an interim basis. He said based on the information available at the time, this was not considered urgent.
Mr Bithell added how there was not a concern regarding potential substantial floods as a result of gully blockages nor was there a consideration of a risk to life for issues relating to sewage or flooding. The highways chief said he was not concerned about the adequacy of lighting.
Anthony Metzer KC brought into evidence the statement of Mark Garth, waste water services director for United Utilities, which said there were reports of flooding dating back to 2018.
The highways manager rejected Mr Metzer's questioning regarding a potential risk to life given two previous weather warnings in June and July of that year. He said the local authority's service is reactive in nature and it would not be feasible to close roads based on Met Office warnings.
Mr Bithell said the council did not consider there was a risk to life based on the information available at the time of the August 2023 collision. He accepted the city council's response prior to August was reactive rather than proactive or focused on hazard prevention and signage would have been helpful to road users as well as reducing risk.
Asked by Mr Metzer: "It took fatalities before the council would do anything?" Mr Bithell replied: "Regretfully, yes." He accepted the local authority had clear knowledge of events past and public safety was at risk during previous floods.
A statement read on behalf of Laura Gilmore, principal engineer for drainage, Liverpool Council said she held discussions with Ian Wiggins, team leader for road safety and traffic management, and Lee Welsh, about the need for signage and preventative measures. She wrote how it was agreed these would be installed but no date was finalised.
There were four previous incidents of flooding in 2023, with the first occasion on May 11 in which the city council was made aware by a report in the Liverpool ECHO. On August 15, a meeting was held with United Utilities and the Merseyside Flood Risk Coordinator in which the water company said it had undertaken £15,000 worth of sewer cleaning around the area following a series of incidents to take out compacted silt.
Ms Gilmore's statement said United Utilities did not indicate any further issues with the sewers. The inquest was also told of how Mr Marco also attempted to gain help through his car's SOS system. A call was logged with the provider at 21.32 requesting fire and rescue services as the vehicle was flooded and he and Mrs Marco could not get out.
The call log showed how voice connection was lost with Mr Marco despite multiple attempts to regain them. The inquest continues.