Flood-hit homeowners pray for rain to stay away

Homeowners in a cul-de-sac which has been plagued by flooding have said they go to bed every night praying it does not rain.

Muddy flood water has flowed into Mallard Close in Madeley, Staffordshire, during heavy rain over the past year such as from Storm Darragh & Storm Bert, leaving behind smelly sludge and debris.

Pete Landon, 84, said the persistent flooding had been "horrendous".

Staffordshire County Council said highway teams are looking at a long-term solution as "a matter of urgency".

Mr Landon, who has just had a knee and hip replacement, has been forced to sweep water and clean up the sludge outside his home in the close, which has been flooded at least seven times this year.

"We're praying every night that we won't get any rain and wake up to another flood in the garage," he said.

"Apart from the flooding, it brings down loads of sludge and debris that's laying over the close, including our drives.

"It's just absolutely dreadful."

George and Elena Kalli have had to clear up the front of their home several times this year and said they were concerned about what would happen over winter.

Mrs Kalli said the situation had become "really, really upsetting" for the family.

"It's a very bad situation for a lot of people but I think the brunt of it, we do suffer with the sheer volume of water that comes here," she said.

"It's just upsetting. I've thought about moving due to it because I just can't keep thinking every time it's bad weather that our houses are going to get flooded."

Kimberley Walley, vice-chair of Madeley Parish Council, said they had been lobbying the county council for more than five years due to flooding on the adjacent Bar Hill.

She put the issue down to drainage problems, but locals said the issue had spilled over from the road in the past year due to run-off from a field owned by HS2.

The councillor said despite repeated requests for help and the backing of Adam Jogee, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, the county council had still not implemented a short-term emergency plan for when it floods, or a long-term plan on how to solve the drainage problems.

"There's always been water held here but, certainly in the last two, years it's become totally unpassable," she said.

Mark Deaville, cabinet member for strategic highways at Staffordshire County Council said some investigative work into the flooding had taken place and that gullies on the road are "inspected regularly and are routinely cleaned".

"We understand the concern of residents, and want to reassure them that highways teams continue to work as a matter of urgency on a long-term solution," he said.

"This includes working with Network Rail to divert excess water to a nearby pond.

"We feel this would help prevent future flooding of the road."

A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said the flooding was caused by "long-term blocked drainage that is beyond HS2's control".

"We take our community responsibilities extremely seriously, which is why we've installed drainage and built embankments in our field by Red Lane, provided sandbags to Madeley Parish Council for distribution to local residents, and will offer the landowner of the neighbouring field our assistance to clear its drainage pipes that help channel water away from Red Lane," the company added.

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