A FAMILY has slammed Cheshire West and Chester Council over its inaction to fix a collapsed drain outside their dream home.

The property, a bungalow on Dalefords Lane near Sandiway, is occupied by an elderly couple in their 80s who moved to Cheshire in February.

The family says that every time it rains, water ‘surrounds the house like a moat’ and the garden is transformed into something resembling a waterfall.

Rainfall is also getting closer to the house, which is causing much stress and affecting the health of the elderly couple.

A family member told the Guardian: “They are having a nightmare of a time.

“They moved into the bungalow to be closer to family, but two weeks in and after the first bout of rainfall, they had a flood caused by the collapsed drain.

“It completely flooded the garage which was still full of storage boxes and furniture and surrounded the house like a moat.

Northwich Guardian:

“The situation is causing them so much distress, and what should have been a move to their forever dream home has turned into an absolute nightmare.

“We are all at the end of our tether and they are sick with worry and dread over the next bout of rainfall.”

The family recently discovered that the collapsed drain was originally reported to the council in October last year, but no physical action has been taken to rectify it.

They have called and emailed both the council and highways department an ‘endless’ amount of times with not much success.

After being contacted by the Guardian, the council apologised for the delay in fixing the drain and said that an emergency team would be on hand to help if needed.

Cllr Karen Shore, deputy council leader and cabinet member for environment, highways and strategic transport, said: “I am very sorry for the length of time that this is taking to provide a permanent solution.

“Our highways team has been working to find the underlying cause of the flooding issues.

Northwich Guardian:

“A drainage camera survey has been commissioned and I trust the repair works to resolve the issue will be undertaken as quickly as possible.

“In the meantime, the council’s emergency out-of-hours team will respond to any emergency calls and attend with sandbags and pumps if required.”

But this is not enough for the family, who just want the problem resolved and are feeling ‘helpless and abandoned’.