A family have been left feeling unsafe in their own home following floods caused by a toy gun lodged inside an underground pipe.

Canterbury mum-of-two Lidia Hill returned to her Downs Road flat last Thursday afternoon to find water pouring in.

Officials from the city council - which owns the property - have since visited the block and discovered a pipe jammed by the children's toy was causing rain to pool on the building's roof.

Despite this, Ms Hill says water continues to gush into her and her daughter's bedrooms when it rains - leaving the ground-floor flat stinking of damp.

The 47-year-old told KentOnline: "When I came back from work last Thursday there was water in the hallway and the kitchen.

"I walked into my bedroom and it was flooded.

"Now when I go to work and it’s raining I don’t know what my home is going to look like when I get back.

"I don’t see how a child could have got on top of the roof to get a toy into the drainage pipe. It’s just bizarre and bonkers."

Ms Hill, who works at The Orchard School in Cambridge Road, says other tenants in the block have been affected.

Those living in a flat on the top floor are also said to have reported water dripping from their ceiling two weeks ago.

Authority spokesman Leo Whitlock says teams have been working hard to solve the issue since it was reported to them.

"It’s just like a swimming pool with water pooling on top of the block's flat roof," Ms Hill added.

"My daughter is stressed because her room was flooded as well. All her clothes were wet.

"It’s started to smell and it’s damp. My son has asthma and his health has been affected. I don’t feel safe living here now."

As a council tenant, Ms Hill must wait for the authority to take action to make the necessary repairs.

But she fears this could take some time and worries how she will manage in the run-up to Christmas.

“The cost of heating up the house to dry it out is eating up all my cash," Ms Hill continued.

"All my savings are going to have to go on sorting this out.”

Mr Whitlock stresses the authority "fully recognises how distressing this situation is for our tenant".

He says workers have provided the family with a dehumidifier, and that they will carry out an inspection of the property.

“We have been working hard to resolve it since it was first reported to us," the council spokesman said.

"When we arrived we discovered a blocked downpipe from the roof. After using a jet washer to clear it, we discovered another blockage in the pipe under the ground.

“We dug a hole to find it, installed an inspection chamber and, after more jetting, found a toy gun had been the cause of the subsequent issues.

"Our teams will carry out an inspection to see if any more work is needed and will keep in close contact with the tenant."