An Outwoods resident who leaped into action to help neighbours following a 24-hour downpour claims flood damage which forced householders out of their homes for three months was "entirely preventable."
Hayley Walker has told the Burton Mail that angry families could have been spared being left unable to stay in their homes if a storm drain had been properly maintained.
Hayley, 36, said her husband Craig, 40, was among those trying to help friends and neighbours when properties in Kitling Greaves Lane were hit by floodwater on March 12.
The homes were swamped when many rivers and brooks burst their banks after 24 hours of intense rain brought chaos to the region. The Outwoods homes are close to a brook which overflowed during the deluge.
Mrs Walker, who works as an administrator for a security company, said: "I received a call from my sister-in-law who told me there was a river running down our drive. I thought she was exaggerating but it turns out she wasn’t and the road was completely flooded.
"My husband was at home, thank goodness, and he was able to help our neighbour who was trying to lift a manhole cover – the water was already pouring into his house.
"The two of them sprang into action and were knocking on doors doing their best to get people to lift their fence panels and keep the water flowing one way.
"The pair of them took charge until the fire service arrived and were on their hands and knees down by the brook which is where the problem was.
"The storm drain was not doing what it should and there was debris and a tyre where the water was getting backed up. When the clutter was removed from the brook and the drains cleared the water instantly started to go down.
"It definitely came down to bad drainage. It was a really horrible situation and you see things like this all the time on TV and your heart goes out to those poor people but you never expect it to happen to you."
Mrs Walker said a picket fence separating her garden from another neighbour helped keep the water flowing and as her home is "half a brick higher" than her neighbours, it was saved from being ruined.
She said: "We were some of the lucky ones because we are not without our home, it was half a brick that saved us, but sadly a lot of the houses are completely done for and some people will not be able to return to their home for at least three months.
"The fire service was amazing and they were so patient with people. I asked one of the firemen how on earth do we get this four foot of water out of the garden and he said the issue is that there are so many new builds in the area and the drains don’t appear to have been updated recently which only made the problem worse.
"I think that is the main reason people are angry; because we feel it was completely preventable."
Mrs Walker’s concern prompted her to contact Burton MP Andrew Griffiths in the hope of pinpointing the root of the problem and preventing a reoccurrence.
She said: "I contacted Andrew Griffiths with my main concern as a resident being that this might happen again. There are a number of new homes proposed to be built nearby and what will happen then? Where will the drainage go if it happens again? I am worried that we are sat at the bottom of a hill that is not fit for purpose.
"What angers people is that we were all stood out in the road and couldn’t be in our homes but there was no one there from the council - we are not looking for someone to blame but surely someone should be saying sorry?"
After speaking with Staffordshire County Council about Mrs Walker's concerns, the council attributed the flooding to intense rainfall and saturated ground, a response Mrs Walker called "laughable."
The mother-of-two said: "To essentially say the saturated ground simply was to blame is laughable. It was the fact that the storm drain had not been maintained and monitored. If it had been then the flooding would probably not have happened.
"We would like to have a schedule of proposed checks alongside an update in regards to the balancing pond because clearly something isn't working somewhere.
"The residents by no means wish to pick a fight but to move forward and get the matter addressed and sorted for the future."
Helen Fisher, cabinet support member for highways and transport at Staffordshire County Council, said: "The flooding that the town experienced last week was due to the extremely heavy rainfall over a short period of time which overpowered much of the area's drainage systems.
"While we are very sorry to hear that a number of properties were flooded, as the lead authority on flooding for the county, we now need to carry out an investigation into the matter.
"Once we have undertaken this investigation we will work closely with partner agencies and local communities to identify what is required to prevent or reduce the risk of this happening again in the future."
Burton MP says "urgent action" must be taken to stop the problem from happening again.
Burton MP Andrew Griffiths, said: "I have been assisting a number of residents in Outwoods following the awful flooding they experienced on Monday, March 12.
"Staffordshire County Council need to explain why the storm drain on the lane was not properly cleared, and why it was so easy for floodwater to build up and enter people’s homes.
"Now that a number of families on the street will have to be out of their homes for a matter of months, urgent action must be taken to ensure that those living on the road do not have to experience this devastating flooding again."
