DESPERATE residents on a road flooded every year by an ageing pipe have begged Thames Water to fix the problem for good.

Staples Road, Loughton, suffered from a burst pipe over the weekend in the latest in a series of floods which have seen residents' homes and even the local school waterlogged.

Although this incident was not one of the worst, residents have said Thames Water's inability to solve the problem is now getting ridiculous.

Amanda Gotham, of Staples Road, said: “How many times does this water main have to burst before Thames Water replace it and put us out of our fear?

“We have been flooded twice. Our neighbours have been flooded twice, the school has been flooded. This water mains is bursting all the time.

“We've written to Thames Water asking them to do something. Nothing seems to make them invest the money. They don't seem to take into account the upset of people being flooded.”

County councillor Chris Pond, who lives on Staples Road, contacted Thames water after the latest incident.

He said: “There was a complete wash of water all over the carriageway. Fortunately it didn't go into anyone's house, it went into the road drain, but it did bring up a lot of gravel which is still there “It's total disruption to residents and the school. This morning the whole of the turning was closed so anyone dropping off their child at school couldn't turn round.

“They have to get their act together to sort this out. We cannot keep getting disrupted once or twice a year simply by their negligence in not replacing their asset.”

Last year both Staples Road Junior and Infants Schools were forced to temporarily close after they became flooded by a pipe.

The year before Mr Pond and Mrs Gotham's houses had been flooded again.