KINDNESS from friends and strangers has “restored faith in humanity” say a family whose home was badly flooded.

Dave and Gemma Wardell, who run the Camelot Kennels rescue centre near Kelly Bray, returned home to a nightmare during Storm Bert last weekend.

Opening the front door they discovered a “lake” of dirty water inside the house, carpets sodden and muddy, and belongings completely ruined.

The water had overflowed from a blocked drain in the road.

Dave and his daughters Jaymee, Tia and India had already been through an ordeal that day. They’d just returned from taking three dogs to the vet in Newquay, including their own pet dog Harper.

“It was my middle daughter Tia who walked into the living room to find a puddle – well, more a lake – where there shouldn’t be,” said Dave.

“It went into three of the rooms – the living room, the kitchen and the main bedroom. Everything’s had to be chucked out.”

Dave admits to feeling completely defeated that evening, but in the days since, the kind gesture of a friend setting up a Go Fund Me page has snowballed into many donations of items and money.

It can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-david-wardell-family

“When you work in rescue and when you’ve worked in the police, you do sometimes see the darker side of people,” said Dave. “But this is the opposite. We’ve had people helping us out with all sorts of things.. It restores your faith in humanity.”

Dave became well known in 2016 while working as a police dog handler. His dog, Finn, saved his life when both were attacked in a vicious stabbing. The pair went on to the finals of Britain’s Got Talent in 2019, moving the public with their deep bond. Dave also campaigned for and saw the passing of Finn’s Law, bringing more stringent punishment for criminals who harm police animals.

The Wardells moved to Cornwall in 2023 after Dave was asked by the charity GSRE (German Shepherd Rescue Elite) to run their kennels near Callington.

Camelot Kennels looks after 40 dogs, mostly German Shepherds, from former prison service dogs or failed police dogs, to those that have been abandoned by their owners or seized by the RSPCA.

Sadly, one of the charity’s rescue dogs had to be put to sleep during the visit to the vet, and another, Amie, who had been suffering from cancer in her leg, has had to have her leg amputated.

“We argued with the vet not to have her put to sleep – we know she’ll be alright, and she’ll get on with things,” said Dave.

“We now need to find a loving home for her with people that can help in her recovery.”