A PENSIONER says he is “depressed and frustrated” at the failure of Thames Water to establish the cause of a flood which has lasted five months and affected seven homes.

The basements of the terraced properties in Leigh Road, Leyton, were first hit on January 2 and the water has more or less stayed at levels varying between four and 15 inches ever since.

All the cellars have drains connected to a Thames Water pipe in the street and residents suspect a blockage is to blame as the amount of water varies depending on outside rainfall.

The flooding has briefly subsided at times following hot weather and periods of pumping by the water company, only for it to return again every time days later.

Robin Harcourt, 65, a retired worker for telephone firm BT, has lived in his house since 1961.

He said: "It's just getting ridiculous now.

"Thames Water people keep coming round to carry out tests, pump out the water, and so on, but they haven't fixed it and still don't know the cause.

"One member of staff told me it could be a Thames Water pipe that the company itself doesn't even know about, which doesn't exactly inspire confidence."

Mr Harcourt said his cellar had only flooded once before in 1988. At the time, fire-fighters who were sent to pump out the water quickly concluded a blocked drainage pipe in the street was to blame.

He said: “That does seem to be the most likely cause again, but every time I speak to someone from Thames Water it's a different person. They don't know the history.

“I have to wade through the water to check the electricity meter and I have a few garden tools in the cellar but I haven't lost a lot of my things. The damage is more about how it's affecting me mentally with the stress of it going on so long.

“It is affecting my health. I feel depressed and frustrated to be honest with you. I now have to take tablets for my blood pressure, which I didn't have to before.”

A spokesman for Thames Water said: "We carried out investigations with CCTV cameras and did not find any blockages.

"We have tested the water and it doesn't contain any chlorine that you would find in mains water.

"We will be returning to the property on Thursday to perform a further test on the water to to determine the source. We hope to have this resolved as quickly as possible."

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