An elderly couple say they have been left high and dry after repeated flooding forced them to sleep in a caravan.

Dudley Mallett, 75, and his wife have to evacuate their home when the flooding causes their property in High Halden, near Ashford, to lose power.

They say Kent County Council is not willing to take responsibility for the blocked drain that is causing the water to build up.

"Since July, every month the front of my home has been flooded, and six months in a row we have lost all of our power multiple times," Mr Mallett said.

"It flooded right up to my front door on Sunday thanks to Storm Dennis, and it has only receded a little bit.

"When it floods really badly it gets into the air bricks under the house, which shorts the electrics and we lose all power.

"Of course when that happens, we lose all of our heating as well because our boiler is electronic.

"It's got so bad that we keep having to evacuate to a caravan so that we have somewhere dry to sleep.

"Thankfully, we have it there in the garden for when our children come and visit, but it's not exactly warm."

As the drain is next to the A28 in front of his house, Mr Mallett contacted Ashford Borough Council and Kent County Council about the issue.

However, he was told the French drain - a grated drain under several feet of gravel - was his responsibility to keep clear.

He said: "They put a French drain in next to the road and then told us that it was our responsibility to keep it clean.

"Now, I'm always one for doing things myself but this pipe is 4ft down and I'm 75, it just can't be done."

In 2014, the retired engineer contacted his MP, Damian Green, who investigated the matter, and Kent County Council sent someone to investigate the drain.

He said: "All fairness to him [Mr Green], he got straight on it, and KCC did come round to have a look at the drain.

"But they all acted like they were doing us a massive favour out of the goodness of their own hearts, and pretty soon it was just as bad as it was before."

The issues created by the flooding extend beyond power losses, affecting the Malletts' everyday lives and even their health.

Mr Mallett, who has six children and eight grandchildren, said: "Last week, I was outside trying to dig a channel out to try and divert some of the water that was coming down the hill, and I slipped and ended up spending hours in A&E getting my nose stitched up.

"We don't even get our bins collected any more - the people collecting them couldn't reach them half the time so after a while they just stopped trying.

"I've given up now and just take our rubbish to the tip, because the bins keep floating away if we try and put them out.

"We've also had a huge problem getting deliveries, which is hardly surprising I suppose as a driver would need Wellington boots to get anywhere near the property.

A Kent County Council spokesman says maintenance of the drainage system is the "responsibility of the property owner".

He said: “As a gesture of goodwill we have cleansed and made minor repairs in the past, but, as we explained to Mr Mallet at the time, any further maintenance is the responsibility of the land owners.

“Kent County Council is responsible for the section of pipe that runs under the highway, however we have not received any reports of issues with this.”

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