Flooded garden means OAP has to put wellies on to hang out the washing

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Flooded garden means OAP has to put wellies on to hang out the washing

Postby dutchman » Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:53 pm

A broken underground pipe has flooded the couple's garden four times in the past 12 years

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A broken underground water pipe has turned an elderly couple’s garden into a swamp.

John and Shirley Whiteman, of Evenlode Crescent, Coundon, have been left to contend with a boggy mess for two months.

This is the fourth time in 12 years that the dodgy pipe has caused issues for the couple.

Mrs Whiteman, 81, said: “The garden is completely flooded - it is like a river.

“I have to put my wellies on to go and hang my washing out.”

She said the flood is now so bad that it is running down the garden, through the fencing at the bottom and onto the street.

“It gets worse and worse every day.

“Luckily there’s a step up before you get to the door because otherwise it would be in the house.

“It’s just unbelievable - my lawn is a bog,” she said.

Her husband even had to build a cement barrier outside their neighbours house to stop the water getting any further.

Coventry-based water authority Severn Trent has fixed the problem three times already, but insist they are not responsible for the pipe.

The last contact Mrs Whiteman said she had with them was last Sunday, when a representative visited the garden and said he would be back in touch.

“We don’t understand why they are not going to do it this time,” she said.

“If there was a drought they would be here.

“We’ve had no correspondence for over a week now and we really don’t know what’s going on.”

Mrs Whiteman, who has lived in the house since she was 14, believes the burst might have been caused by the water pressure being turned up too high.

She is worried that the cost of getting someone out to fix the problem once and for all could be too much for them.

“If all they do is patch it up again we’re going to be going to have the same problem again in a couple of years.

“But it will cost a lot of money to replace and none of our neighbours would be able to pay either.”

A spokesperson for Severn Trent said: “We’ve been in regular contact with Mr and Mrs Whiteman about this burst pipe beneath their garden.

“We’ve had engineers out to locate the leak and it’s clear the issue is on a private pipe within the boundary of their home.

“While we have repaired it in the past as a gesture of goodwill the pipe is the responsibility of Mr and Mrs Whiteman to maintain.

“We’re happy to provide them with a list of approved companies who could do the work.

“Severn Trent is responsible for pipes that take water to homes up to the external stop tap, any water pipes inside the boundary of a property are the responsibility of the homeowner.”

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