Thatcham pensioner’s garden flooded with water and sewage after Storm Bert

A Thatcham pensioner’s property has been flooded yet again after Storm Bert.

Kathy Le Brun, of Bowling Green Road, says she is at the end of her tether after a drain in her back garden overfilled during the weekend’s heavy rainfall, causing almost her entire garden to be flooded with water and sewage.

It is the worst case so far, she said, but not the first.

Her garden has been periodically flooded for years, including eight times last year and in 2007 and 2014, when severe rainfall hit the district.

But after making repeat phone calls, filling out forms and Thames Water workers visiting her property to clean-up each time, no solution is imminent.

“I feel unless something is done in the road, we’re just going to carry on,” said Mrs Le Brun, standing just metres away from a pool of human waste outside her conservatory door.

“This has been the worst. It very nearly went into the garage. My son came and barricaded it for me.

“When the water does eventually subside after 48 hours, goodness where it subsides to, I have to phone Thames Water again to come and do a clean-up.

“It’s only the last couple of years that we realised they did a clean-up. Before that, we were doing it.”

Mrs Le Brun also experienced flooding in January. Thames Water workers visited and completed a clean-up three days later.

In a letter from Thames Water to Justin Pemberton (Lib Dem, Thatcham West), shared by Mrs Le Brun with newburytoday, it said it detected no blockages at her property in January and confirmed the flooding was due to hydraulic overload, which is when its infrastructure cannot cope with extensive rainfall.

Also in the letter, the water company stated it cleaned and camera surveyed the sewer in March and October 2023, but said the sewers were flowing normally both times and that no follow-up works were necessary.

It added the area has been put onto its annual planned maintenance programme and plans to reduce the amount of flooding over the next 25 years.

But for homeowners like Mrs Le Brun, this answer is not enough.

“If I hear the expression [hydraulic overload] again, I shall probably scream,” she added.

Mrs Le Brun understands the problematic drain serves just her property, but the resulting flooding has affected her surrounding neighbours.

She said she received compensation from the water company about 18 months ago, meaning she at least did not have to pay towards the water spillage.

Contact Thames Water at 0800 316 9800 to report a problem.

Alternatively, contact the Consumer Council for Water, an independent body providing support for those wishing to make a complaint against a water company or retailer.

Bowling Green Road is located within an area of high flooding risk.

It is covered by the West Thatcham Flood Alleviation Scheme, which West Berkshire Council hopes to complete by 2027 to reduce the surface water flood risk.

But the same area could eventually house hundreds of new homes after the Local Plan Inspector asked West Berkshire Council to suggest a number of additional housing sites for inclusion in the Local Plan (2023-2041).

Approximately 270 homes are proposed for land east of the Regency Park Hotel on Bowling Green Road under the new scheme.