Blocked drains and broken gullies are causing a house to flood according to a Bury St Edmunds businessman, who has pinned the blame on Suffolk County Council.

East Anglian Daily Times: John Preston, 63, owns the house in Northgate Street in which his daughter, Rachel Preston, 27, lives with a lodger. They have criticised Suffolk County Council for failing to fix a two drain gullies which threatens to flood the house during heavy downpours.John Preston, 63, owns the house in Northgate Street in which his daughter, Rachel Preston, 27, lives with a lodger. They have criticised Suffolk County Council for failing to fix a two drain gullies which threatens to flood the house during heavy downpours. (Image: Archant)

John Preston’s daughter Rachel lives with a lodger at the affected house in Northgate Street, Bury.

Mr Preston described the gullies outside the house as “inadequate and broken”, meaning rainwater would often run into the house’s cellar from the road.

A spokeswoman from Suffolk County Council said the situation had been resolved with the installation of two linked gullies to drain water away from the front of the house. But Mr Preston said he has been forced to shell out more than £1,000 on a pavement cover to stop the water flooding in, and said the council had failed in their duty.

He added: “As far as I am concerned they are legally responsible for carrying out any work.

“My daughter is the one living there and suffering the problems. If I went to court it would cost me £100,000 and I still might not get satisfied.”

Mr Preston also said a private firm had quoted him £1,420 to carry out repair work to the gullies.

A council spokeswoman said the problem had been prepared to meet the council’s policy of addressing “accumulations of water on carriageways, footways and cycleways in the interests of road safety”.

She added: “All drainage systems are capable of being overloaded during intense rainfall.

“There may have been a high flow in the road at times due to the adverse weather.”

The spokeswoman also said the council was not aware of the broken drain cover, but would now fix it.