AFTER speaking to Wiltshire Council about his flooding woes a Lea resident was outraged to find that he has to maintain his own drainage ditch.

Geoff Ketcher spends around three hours every day pumping water out of his house when it rains and says that it did not used to be like this.

Recent bad weather has made the drainage ditch outside his house fill with water and even saw some seeping into his house despite his effort to stop the spread.

Upon contacting Wiltshire Council about maintaining the ditches outside his home he was told that he would have to do it himself and organise for neighbours to do the same.

Mr Ketcher said: “This house has stood for more than 300 years, so someone must have been doing the ditches.

“No one household can really expect to fix a roadside drainage issue, not just because of costs or risks but by the very simple fact that they can only fix one very small section of the whole road.

“If they cleared their own ditch there is a very great chance that their water problems could actually get worse due to the fact that their ditch would be lower and clearer than their neighbours.”

Mr Ketcher added: “I don’t know whether the law has changed but I don’t think enough people are aware of it.

“Not many people are affected now but in the next few years this ditch will be getting fuller and fuller.”

Mr Ketcher came to the conclusion that after getting no action from the council this year or last something has to be done and he is now considering the best way to organise a group to help dig and maintain the ditches in and around Lea.

Wiltshire Council have responded by saying that these laws have not changed in living memory and that Mr Ketcher had only recently complained to the council despite several years of flooding.

A spokesman for Wiltshire Council added: “People are responsible for maintaining ditches next to their land or property.

“We sent information to town and parish councils at the end of last year to ensure they remind people of their responsibility.

“We would encourage anyone who would like advice or guidance on flooding issues to call their local Wiltshire Council highway officer on 0300 456 0105.”

The council further insisted that there would be no cables below drainage ditches and that residents would be safe to clear their ditches and to dig without fear of action from the council provided they abided by the rules set out by the government.

The government’s guidance on flooding states that homeowners are responsible for protecting their property from water that seeps through natural or artificial banks and that they may be responsible for paying for repairs.

For more information on flooding with flooding read the Environment Agency’s leaflet on the matter at http://bit.ly/1uSNxMT