A family say they are at their “wits’ end” having to battle to protect their home every time there is a torrential downpour.
Mike and Lisa Howard dread the heavy rain because it has submerged their council property in Smithy Lane, Wrexham, twice in the last six years.
As flash flooding hit the county earlier this week, Mr Howard only just managed to get home from work and into his wellies to barricade the house with sandbags, averting disaster with only minutes to spare.
Now the couple, who, in the past have been forced to live upstairs during renovations, and have cut outings short when clouds have been threatening, say “enough is enough” and are “frustrated” with the way Wrexham council and Welsh Water appear to be “pointing the finger at each other.”
Mr Howard, who lives at the address with his wife, three children and two dogs, said: “This has been going on for nearly a decade but the last six years, we’ve had more severe issues with flooding and have been involved in an ongoing battle with Wrexham council and Welsh Water.
“They each point the finger at each other and whenever I push for action, it feels like I’m hitting my head against a brick wall.
“Our whole ground floor has been wiped out twice in six years and we had to live upstairs while everything was gutted.
“We had to get rid of a lot of furniture and items because they were contaminated by sewer water.
“Our insurance premiums are constantly going up because we can’t get insured by any other company.
“It’s so frustrating.”
Monday was the last straw for Mike and Lisa as drains backed up leaving raw sewage water submerging his garden.
Mr Howard said: “When the water reaches a certain level, cars travelling past cause a tidal wave effect sending the water up the driveway, so not only are we battling against the sewers, we are battling against the road surface too.
“We’ve had surveys done and we’ve asked for flood gates to protect the property, but they will only give us sandbags.
“If I’m not home when it rains, my wife and kids can’t get the bags out quickly enough.
“Last time we flooded, we went away on holiday during the repair works to get away from everything, and even then, we had a call from home saying it was raining heavily, and family members had to go to the house and put bags down to try to stop it from breaching.
“Once, we were out at the garden centre and the sky went dark with clouds, we just took one look at each other and said we best get home.
“It’s impacting our ability to get out of the house for prolonged periods of time.
“We dread it when it rains. Enough is enough now, we’re at our wits’ end.”
A Welsh Water spokeswoman said: “We are aware of flooding which has been affecting part of Smithy Lane, Wrexham and have been undertaking investigations to understand the cause.
“Once our investigations are complete and we fully understand the cause, we will be able to decide on the appropriate next steps to help alleviate the situation.
“We will keep the customer informed of our progress and appreciate their patience while we continue the investigations which should be complete by the end of September 2018.”
A Wrexham Council spokeswoman said: “We are aware of Mr Howard’s circumstances and will continue to work to find a satisfactory solution to the problem.”
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