Man forced to pump 4,000 litres of water out his garden every time it rains

A former firefighter whose home suffers constant floods says he has to pump 4,000 litres out of his garden - every time it rains.

Chris Hockaday, 68, has water continually entering his cellar - and has so far been unable to identify the source of the leak. He has spent £3k on his garden being dug-out to find out where it is coming from and prove it is from outside his property.

Chris says he now has to spend day and night when it rains pumping water out of the three-metre deep hole so it doesn't consume his basement. He says the water is coming from outside the garden so should not be his responsibility.

But he says his pleas to the authorities have been ignored and he is left to deal with sometimes up to 4,500 litres of water in the hole alone every few hours when raining.

The former firefighter of Plymouth, Devon, said: "It looks like the Luftwaffe have dropped a bomb on my garden. I was a firefighter so to be plagued by water now I am retired is quite ironic. I am fairly able bodied and can look after my place up to a point but if I was really old or disabled and wasn't able to, the whole of my cellar and office next door would all be flooded by now.

''When it does rain heavily the hole fills up with between 4,000 and 4.500 litres of water in about three hours which I have to pump out with the cellar pump.''

Despite trying to seek help from Plymouth City Council - who is the lead flood risk authority - Chris says his attempts have been shut down.

He said: "Councillors haven't volunteered to help me at all, even though I have reached out many times. Plymouth City Council won't even try and hear my plight. I have sought help with the Environment Agency, the council, South West Water and my own insurance. But no one is doing anything about this. I just want the water to stop."

Chris says that the hole is "absolutely essential" in preventing more flooding in his basement rooms.

He says that in around three to four hours, if the hole is unpumped it gets to such a level that up to 4,500 litres of water enters it.

He said: "After that level, the water starts to flood into the cellar - so it is critical the hole be pumped out.

"Just yesterday alone it had 750 litres in it, and the days before that 1,250 litres.

"If it doesn't rain I don't have to pump it out everyday - but we've got a big storm coming this weekend.

"That means I'm having to set my alarms for really early in the morning to pump out the hole - I'm up at all hours.

''When it does rain heavily the hole fills up with between 4,000 and 4.500 litres of water

The flooding has been going on for ten months and has taken a toll on Chris mentally and physically.

He is on anti-depressants and has suffered two chest infections believed to be from the damp water spores that have entered his property.

Chris said he noticed the flooding one day in 2024, when he went down to the basement room.

He added: "I have been here for 30 years and there has never been any problem at all.

"But when I got down there I walked into a pile of water.''

When Chris contacted his home insurance, he was told they could not help him until he found the source of the water.

He said: "But I still haven't got to that process of where the water is coming from!"

South West Water said it had been working with Mr Hockaday "for some time" on his situation and confirmed that the floodwater he was experiencing was not due to any issues on its network.

A spokesperson said: "We have carried out detailed tests and CCTV investigations on our network and completed dye testing, with all results showing no connection to the floodwater- we have advised the homeowner to contact the council for further support".

Plymouth City Council said: "We have every sympathy for Mr Hockaday but we do not believe the water entering his property is from any of our highway assets."

A CCTV survey of the two gullies near Chris's home, outside numbers 22 and 31, was carried out and there were no issues with the connection between the gully outside no 31 and South West Water's combined sewer but they said there was slight damage to the connection outside no 22.

The spokesperson said: "This was caused by BT when they installed infrastructure in the carriageway and we are chasing them to carry out the necessary repairs.

"However, we do not believe this relatively minor damage would cause much, if any, water to enter the ground - and certainly not the 10 to 30 litres a day Mr Hockaday reported.

"Mr Hockaday reports water entering the property during dry spells as well as during rain and South West Water have confirmed the water contains chlorine, which would suggest it is from a clean water supply.

"We have also brought to Mr Hockaday's attention that there is a natural water course that runs under the properties at this location, which could well be causing or contributing to the problem.

"As the homeowner, it would be his responsibility to protect his basement against this under 'riparian rights'."

Riparian rights are legal rights and responsibilities that come with owning land that borders a river, lake or stream.

The council said it would only be responsible for water entering the basement of a private property if it were due to issues with the infrastructure it manages, such as the main drain.

The spokesperson added: "We do not believe that to be the case here and we have explained this to Mr Hockaday".

However, when the hole was dug on the 26 April, Chris said he asked contractors to dig past a line outside his garden boundary - to prove the water is coming in from the pavement.

Chris said: "The water is clearly coming from outside my garden boundary - which is key to this riparian rule.

"You can clearly see the freshwater running in on videos. The local council should therefore be helping me."