MYSTERY surrounds who is responsible for a natural spring which is said to be repeatedly causing an underpass to flood.

Transport for London (TfL) recently installed a new pump in the subway under Charlie Brown's roundabout in Maybank Road, South Woodford - raising hopes that the problem would be finally solved.

Discussing the issue at a meeting earlier this month of the council's Public Transport Liaison Group, TfL officials said they were also in negotiations with Thames Water, which was responsible for dealing with the spring.

However, Thames Water has now denied any responsiblity for the spring, with a spokeswoman refusing to comment further.

This has prompted warnings that a solution to the problem is not imminent and problems will persist.

Cllr Gwenyth Deakins, who attended the meeting, said: "TfL gave us a chronology about various things they had done about the underpass and amongst that they had noted they had been in touch with Thames Water about the natural spring.

"There is still the danger the pumps won't be able to cope and so the saga continues."

A member of the Maybank Community Association, Frank Collins, has fought for many years for action to stop the flooding.

He said: "They renewed the pumps and put in a new monitoring system where they can check the pumps remotely. If these new pumps can't cope with the rain, then perhaps they need bigger pumps?

"It will be interesting to see what happens when we get a heavy downpour, but I can't see how they can blame this spring when it has been there for years."

TfL comment to follow.

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