Flintshire residents have been left to pick up the pieces after their homes were flooded just days after warning the council of the imminent danger.

Around 15 houses – many of which are Grade II listed – on Wrexham Road in Pontblyddyn, were worst affected after a storm drain on the road erupted in the early hours of Sunday morning (February 16).

The flooding, though, came just days after several residents each made their own respective calls to Flintshire Council about the ‘bubbling’ storm drain.

And after several residents came together on Tuesday to speak to the Leader, the common consensus between people that have been hit by the flooding is that it could have been prevented.

One resident, who preferred not to be named, said: “I called Flintshire County Council twice in the week before the flooding happened, and it’s just council negligence.

“I saw the lid bubbling up on the surface and water seeping out, but by the time a council official came to take a look it had settled down and they said nothing was wrong.

“It wasn’t long at all between the drain finally giving way and the water getting into my home.”

The Leader: The Alyn Terraces and Alyn Cottages in Pontblyddyn with sandbags outside. The Alyn Terraces and Alyn Cottages in Pontblyddyn with sandbags outside.

Local residents say that a culvert was put into Pontblyddyn ‘a couple of decades ago’ shortly after the last bad flood hit the area.

However, it is believed that these culverts have not been maintained properly since, leading to them becoming blocked and causing the overflow from the storm drain on the road.

June Fox, who's home narrowly avoid being flooded, said: “I reported that drain to the council the day after Storm Ciara struck sometime last week when it started bubbling up and causing water to flow down both sides of the road.

“But by the time they came later in the day, it had stopped bubbling up and they said there’s nothing wrong with it.

“They never looked at the culverts, though, and they were all blocked up with tree branches, litter and other things.

“I think it’s very unfair that Flintshire County Council are trying to wriggle their way out of taking responsibility because they’re the ones who put these culverts in.”

The Leader: One of the culverts in Pontblyddyn is already partially blocked after being cleared on Sunday. One of the culverts in Pontblyddyn is already partially blocked after being cleared on Sunday.

Pontblyddyn Community Councillor, Jayne Atkinson, was amongst the group of residents to have been hit by the devastating flooding just days after her family’s new kitchen had been fitted.

After living in the area for the past 30 years, she said: “Flintshire County Council put the culvert in a couple of decades ago after our last bad flood in the area.

“But they’ve put it in on land which doesn’t appear to be theirs and are now disputing who’s land it is on and who’s responsibility it is to maintain.

“I’ve never seen any maintenance of it, but who can when it’s completely sealed off around the outside by hedges and fences while being completely open at the top for things to fall into.

“The sandbags came hours after the flood, but when a tanker came it only took around ten minutes to clear away the water.

“The storms had been predicted, but there were no precautionary measures in place for us. If the council had heeded the warnings from the phone calls, this wouldn’t have happened.”

The Leader: A row of homes with sandbags that came too late to prevent water from getting in. A row of homes with sandbags that came too late to prevent water from getting in.

Jill Jones, who has lived at Alyn Terraces on Wrexham Road for 17 years, saw her laminate flooring ruined by the flooding.

She said: “It was like a bad dream because it never should have happened. They came to inspect the area and said that everything was fine when it wasn’t.

“When the flooding first started, I called an emergency council helpline, but my call wasn’t being connected so I had to call 999 instead.

“Then to make things even worse, the road wasn’t closed off, so cars and lorries were splashing all the water on the road towards the houses.”

The Leader: The 'bubbling' storm drain which was reported to Flintshire County Council several times before the flooding. The 'bubbling' storm drain which was reported to Flintshire County Council several times before the flooding.

David Robinson, who has lived in Pontblyddyn for the last two years, desperately tried to clear the drains outside his home shortly after 2am.

He said: “It was just one thing after another with the council not preventing the problem or responding quickly enough to stop it. This was all so preventable and that’s the saddest part.

“I was outside brushing the storm drains with an outdoor broom to try and clear the debris at around 2am, but it was just futile and that’s when I figured that the battle was lost.

“At first, they only brought one pallet of sandbags at around half three in the morning, but that wasn’t anywhere near enough.

“More sandbags came later on at around 5am, but if they had brought enough to begin with, my house and maybe some others would have been saved.”

The Leader: Sandbags outside the row of homes in Pontblyddyn. Sandbags outside the row of homes in Pontblyddyn.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service were first alerted to the incident at around 3.40am on Sunday.

A spokesperson for the service said: “An officer attended the scene and spoke to all of the residents to give advice.

“No further action was taken by the fire service, but officials Flintshire County Council and Highways were in attendance, while Scottish Power had also been informed.”

In response to the flooding, Steve Jones, Chief Officer Streetscene and Transportation said:

“As Lead Local Flood Authority, Flintshire will investigate the incident to understand the underlying causes and mechanism of flooding. We will collate our findings in a Flood Investigation Report.

"This information will help us to determine whether any potential long-term solutions or improvement measures could be implemented to reduce the risk of flooding at this location.”