NEIGHBOURS have appealed for help from the authorities as they fear the next big downpour could spell flooding misery.

Houses in Montagu Street, Rodbourne, were flooded in 2006 and residents fear that if the drainage system on the road is not improved they face a repeat incident.

Residents have taken their own measures to stop the water coming in several times. During last Friday’s downpour, the homes were close to flooding though residents have been told the drains are working.

Montagu Street resident, Jayne Lecornu, 46, said: “The drains do work, which is fair enough and the council are saying they work, but when it comes to torrential rain they just don’t clear it.

“In this type of weather it doesn’t drain away.”

Although Swindon council are responsible for maintaining the drains and ensuring they are clear, the drainage capacity and underground piping system is the responsibility of Thames Water.

Neighbour William Moreland, 65, said: “The drains are not doing the job properly. I keep looking for the Titanic to come back.

“I watch the BBC weather and ITV weather that said there was going to be heavy rain – one has to be observant, you have to look out for it.”

He said that the drain covers on the side and middle of the road were failing to cope with the amount of water and were overflowing.

Mrs Lecornu said some neighbours were out in the road last Friday directing traffic away from the road for fear that cars coming down the road would displace the water enough to flood the houses.

In desperation, Mrs Lecornu has built a brick wall outside her property to try to stem off the rainfall, which reached the top of this wall last week, while several of her neighbours have raised the height of their front doors.

“It’s going to carry on - I was home from work last week to make sure it didn’t get worse and I think my neighbours have had enough of it all.

“It’s very frustrating,” she said.

“Unless I had that wall there I would have terrible flooding problems again - we need somebody to try and take it on board that there is a problem.”

A spokeswoman for Thames Water said an engineer would be sent out to investigate the problem and any possible flood mitigation measures would be taken.

She confirmed that after the flooding in 2006, Thames Water had carried out a CCTV survey of the drains and had found it was all clear, but had not received any complaints since then.

“We’re now going to send out an engineer to investigate and drop off flooding questionnaires so residents can keep a proper log of the incidents that are happening.

“We will do another camera survey investigation to make sure there is not a blockage.”

She explained that spending on flood alleviation was limited by the Thames Water budget, which is regulated by Ofwat to ensure that customers bills do not skyrocket.

“We have got people who have been flooded three times a year - places like that are our priority.

“We are spending £10m in Haydon Wick at the moment.”