Hurricane Harvey: Wolves fans help Houston supporter caught up in floods

Clive Hill has told how he and his wife Marla cleared out of their home in Houston, Texas, just minutes before 3ft flood waters poured in.

The couple heeded the advice of fire department officials to leave their house as the tropical cyclone took hold on August 27.

They made it to safety but their home has been completely ruined.

Returning on Wednesday they discovered that their furniture, appliances, flooring and two cars had all fallen victim to the floods.

Clive’s neighbours had to be rescued and later told him he escaped just 30 minutes before the water rose.

The couple now have the unenviable task of rebuilding their lives - but they have been a given a boost by the support of Wolves fans nearly 5,000 miles away.

An online fundraising campaign has been launched to give Clive a little pick-me-up and within days the total has reached nearly $585 (£452).

Speaking to the Express & Star, Clive, aged 65, said: “We bought this house in 2009 and we had only just got it right how we wanted it because it is a 50-year-old house.

“And then Harvey came along last week. We had three feet of water in the house.

“Every single piece of furniture is ruined. Every appliance - the fridge, stove, washer, dryer, dishwasher - has gone.

“But we have been fortunate compared to many others. We have only lost stuff and stuff is replaceable.”

Hurricane Harvey dumped an estimated 20 trillion gallons of rain on the Houston area and has claimed at least 47 lives.

After evacuating, Clive and Marla spent three nights at a hotel 30 miles north before returning on Wednesday morning.

The watermark on bricks at their home reveal how high the flood reached and even now their is an inch of water underneath the couple’s wooden flooring.

Remarkably Clive’s collection of Wolves memorabilia was largely unscathed.

Clive, added: “I didn’t lose too many of the Wolves mementos. I lost a signed picture of John Richards but I am sure he will do another.

“I didn’t lose my Bully stuff which I am happy about.

“We have had a gang of people turn up, including Marla’s son, and who have helped take the plasterboard off because that would be dangerous to leave.

“It will take months but we will get back in shape.”

The online fundraiser was set up by Clive’s close friend and fellow Wolves fan Paul Lappage, who moved to Houston in 2011 from Sedgley.

The pair met shortly afterwards through the Wolves Blog and have been meeting up to watch matches ever since.

Paul, 37, whose home was not affected by the floods, has been helping Clive clear his sodden furniture.

He said: “In the grand scheme of things people have been left in much worse situations than Clive but this was something I could do for him.

“They have got insurance and things they can fall back on, but until you see the extent of it and see how much damage it has caused it is hard to grasp the huge impact this will have.

“I am saying, by giving a few pounds, buy him a pint or a pat on the back. Let him know that we are thinking of him.

“People have gone above and beyond that. People he has never met have stepped up to say ‘you are in our thoughts.’”

Clive, who as a boy went to Brewood Grammar School, went to his first Wolves match aged five, the beginning of a “love affair” with the club.

He was a regular at Molineux before moving to the USA in 1989, where he has his own fencing business. The firm’s business cards even feature the Wolves crest. His parents still live in Penn.

Commenting on the support of his fellow Wolves fans, he said: “I have been gobsmacked. It is the only thing through all of this which has brought me to tears.

“I want to say a huge thank you to Paul and to everyone on the Wolves Blog. The comments and calls I have had have been fantastic.”

Visit www.gofundme.com/harvey-vs-clive-of-houston to contribute to the online fundraiser.