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'Our drains can't cope with monsoon-like flooding'

Jo Burn
BBC News, Sandwich
Patrick Barlow
BBC News, South East
Jo Burn / BBC Two men stood in front of an information board. The information board reads: "HISTORIC SANDWICH / MEDIEVAL CORN MARKET AND THE GUILDHALL".Jo Burn / BBC
Simon Collings, left, and Cllr Emmet Csuka say that flooding in Sandwich on Friday was exacerbated by blocked drains

Residents in a flood-hit Kent town fear they may have to install defences if drains are not cleared after water flowed into homes and businesses this weekend.

Homes in Sandwich and across the east of Kent saw rivers of water flowing along streets, with some likening the deluge to a "monsoon".

Flood-hit homeowners now claim that issues would not have been as bad if roadside drains had been properly cleared.

Simon Collings, who woke to find his house in Breezy Corner had been hit by the flooding, said: "There were pools and filth everywhere."

Ian Whitehouse A flooded street at night time. Water is covering the road with street lights shining off it.Ian Whitehouse
Flooding in Strand Street in Sandwich on Friday evening

He added: "It very quickly turned into a complete deluge. The drains just couldn't cope with it.

"Unless they fix the drains, which aren't adequate at the moment, then I need to put flood defences in."

Mr Collings, who has lived in Sandwich for five years, said he believed that if drains had been cleared then the flooding "would not have been quite so bad".

'Bubbling from drains'

Dozens of people, including school students due to sit exams this week, were evacuated after an amber thunderstorm warning from the Met Office came with severe rainfall.

More than 30,000 lightning strikes were recorded on Friday night, the Met Office added.

Kat McClory, who runs the Waiting Room Cafe and Bar in Delf Street, said she was woken by the lightning before water started "bubbling up from the drains and the road".

Jo Burn / BBC A woman in an apron stood in front of a glass-fronted cafe. A sign on the window of the cafe reads "THE WAITING ROOM".Jo Burn / BBC
Kat McClory, who runs The Waiting Room in Sandwich, was awoken by the lightening

She added: "It reminded me of the thunderstorms we would get in Australia where I'm from.

"The team hadn't finished closing up and were trying to push the water out with brooms and mops."

Kent County Council says drains on minor roads are cleaned once every one to three years depending on risk factors including whether the areas are a known flooding zone.

Drains on high speed roads are then checked once annually between April and September.

Emmet Csuka, Sandwich Town Councillor for North Ward, said: "I have experienced monsoons in Asia before and Friday night was on a par with that.

"There are underlying issues here that need addressing by Kent County Council. Blocked drains is probably the top issue that comes to me as a councillor."

Kent County Council has been approached for comment.

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