A dad fears his family home could end up collapsing if his local council doesn't step in and help. Lewyn Clegg, from Shepley in Yorkshire, said the cellar at his home floods constantly ever since storms battered the area three months after they moved in back in 2019.
Lewyn, 32, told YorkshireLive the cellar at his terraced home quickly turned into a "swimming pool" when the area was hit by harsh storms - and flooding has plagued their home ever since. The father-of-two, who lives in the house with his young children and fiancée Natalie, says the issue is being caused by a blocked culvert underneath the main road.
Since the problem started, Lewyn has had electric pumps installed which are "constantly" working to funnel water back out of their cellar and onto the main road, but he worries it is a major hazard over the winter months when temperatures plunge. He says the pumps kick in at least once a day, but in winter it can be as frequently as every 20 minutes - and if one fails, the basement turns into a swimming pool again.
He now fears the £180,000 home he bought in 2019 is worth nothing - and could even collapse if the problem is allowed to continue. The fed-up dad has dug a huge hole in his front garden to try and prove to Kirklees Council that there is a stone culvert, which he says is blocked and is causing the flooding.
While he says unblocking the culvert is the problem of the council, he says the authority is citing "permissive powers" and is refusing to help. The giant hole in his front garden has become known as the 'Great Hole of Haddingley Lane'.
"I have proved it is the council [who is responsible to deal with the blockage]," he said. "They tried getting to it and blasted it through but it has blocked again. Everyone I have spoken to has said it is the council's responsibility."
Lewyn told Yorkshire Live he has sought legal advice in a bid to bring the dispute to an end, but was warned it would cost between £35,000 and £60,000 to take the council to court - money the family does not have.
The constant flooding has led to the home's foundations becoming damaged and the house is currently "being propped up by supporting scaffolding poles," according to Lewyn, who says cracks have started to appear in the building. He fears his home could collapse "overnight".
The 32-year-old has pinned a sign to the side of his house to explain the gushing water and huge hole in his front garden. It reads: "This hole was dug by the current owner of 2 Haddingley Lane in the Autumn of 2020. It was created to confirm the existence of a stone culvert which was built at the same time as the house circa 1880.
"The culvert was created to take water away from the cellar of the property, which is effectively a void in the water table as the foundations were built into the ground. The roof of the culvert is made from heavy stone slabs and there is no modern pipework to back up the original construction.
"You can see that the water which would normally be taken away from the property is static in the culvert... Due to a collapse in the culvert roof underneath the highway at the junction, the culvert is now ineffective and consequently floods the basement in the event of heavy rain... The current situation means that the electric pumps are now working constantly to pump the water away from the basement.
"It has been established beyond doubt that it is the responsibility of Kirklees Council to unblock the culvert underneath their highway (Riparian Rights)... The council has used their 'permissive powers' to neglect this responsibility and to leave us in the situation you see here.
"... We dug the hole after the council's main excuse for not fulfilling their civic duty was that the 'ancient' culvert was not on any of their maps and, further more, that it was blocked under our land. With external surveys and groundworks experts we have been able to disprove both theories, leaving Kirklees with no plausible reasoning.
"We have explored every possible avenue open to us as a young working family, but to no avail. We are a young family in our first home and have been exposed to the unexpected flood problems with the house and now the stress and anxiety that Kirklees are putting us through by evading their duties.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused by the hole and water on the highway, but please understand our dire situation." Lewyn and Natalie are now asking anyone who thinks they may be able to help them in any way to get in touch on natsjd1990@gmail.com.
Councillor Naheed Mather, Cabinet Member for Environment for Kirklees Council said: "Kirklees Council has investigated the issue on Haddingley Lane with findings presenting an ageing stone drainage system within the curtilage of the property, which we hold no records of on our system. If any new information comes to light we would be happy to review our position.”
