A householder wants rid of an unwanted water feature which has turned the path next to his home into a “raging torrent” during heavy rain.
Andrew France, 53, of Dirker Drive, Marsden, said water began gushing down his steps on Boxing Day – and has hardly stopped since.
The water is coming off sloping fields above his semi-detached former council house and Andrew believes a land drain may be blocked or damaged.
The bottom of his garden is also waterlogged.
He contacted Yorkshire Water who referred him to Kirklees Council but despite daily calls to the council promised call-backs never came.
Now the council have done some work and promised more.
Andrew, who lives with partner Suzanne Wayte, 53, said: “My partner has lived there 16 years and I’ve been there 10 years and we’ve never seen anything like it.
“It all started after the heavy rain on Boxing Day and when it’s really bad it’s like a raging torrent.
“The manhole cover nearby lifts and water just cascades down the steps used by us and our elderly neighbour.
“The water runs across the pavement and into the road where it freezes in icy weather. It’s a health and safety hazard.”
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He added: “All I know is that the fields are riddled with land drains and that’s why no-one has been able to build on them,” he said.
“Whether it’s a blockage or whether the flow has been diverted – the lane at the back is now dry when it always used to be wet – I don’t know.
“I’ve tried to be fair and rung the council every day at 10am but they don’t ring back and we are getting nowhere,” said Mr France.
“We’ve been told if the drain is on our property we could be responsible but this has been going on too long.
“The neighbours keep asking when we’re going to get it sorted and we’re trying. I am a patient guy but my patience is running a bit thin.”
A council spokesman said: “Officers visited the site and found a previously unrecorded culverted watercourse that was blocked. Officers tried to clear the blockage on February 12 but were unsuccessful. They returned on the 15th with a larger jetter and managed to get the system running, however it became blocked again so officers returned to clear it on February 23.
“The next course of action is to carry out a camera investigation once water levels reduce, in order to identify where the blockage is. Throughout this time we have been in contact with the affected resident.”
