A kind-hearted couple carried on helping the homeless despite the home they share with their six children being destroyed by flooding.
Sandra, 35, and Antonio Ribeiro, 50, from Ilkeston, have helped hundreds of homeless people while working for Nottingham-based Christian charity Remar UK.
The couple manage the Radford Road centre and provide accommodation for up to 14 homeless people at any one time who are fighting drug, alcohol and gambling addictions.
On Wednesday, June 26, while they slept a pipe in their bungalow burst in the bathroom and covered their home with ankle-high water.
But despite the water destroying their home, they still kept the charity running and even opened the soup kitchen on Thursday evening.
Sandra said: "The charity, which has bases across the UK, has been running for 27 years and the first one that opened was in Nottingham. We try and look after them and teach them new skills.
"Some people don't even know how to cook or clean, basic skills, because they have lived on the street for so long.
"We live in accommodation provided by the ministry. We woke up at 6am and put our feet out of bed and felt water. Lots of water. I thought I was dreaming.
"Then all of a sudden we saw all the flooding - the cupboards, the living room, the bathroom, it was everywhere. It was above our ankles.
"It was stressful. When you see everything flooded and soaking wet."
The couple had to remove all the furniture from their home in order to remove the carpets and use a wet hoover to soak up the water.
This was while keeping the charity running.
She added: "All the carpets and all the wooden floors need to be replaced, as well as the kitchen floor.
"We are working on quotations for the cost of the damage and waiting for the insurance company."
Antonio added: "I was stressed because it was in all the rooms. We had to remove everything and we had to get out all the water.
"The water was coming from the corner of the bathroom and a pipe had burst. It had happened through the night so no one noticed it.
"Even though the house was flooded we still managed to open the soup kitchen on the Thursday - and open our doors. We keep on the fight, to help the people."
