Calls for action after more flooding problems in Eddlewood

Oct 20 2011 by Chris Clements, Hamilton Advertiser

A HAMILTON woman had to be rescued from her luxury car when it became trapped in flood water during Mondays torrential rain.

Meikle Earnock resident Mary Cunningham is now facing a bill of thousands of pounds after sewage water flooded the engine of her 2006 BMW 5 series.

The 52-year-old had been driving through Eddlewoods Devonhill Avenue when the car which cost £21,000 when she bought it two years ago became stuck in three to four feet of flood water.

Nearby council workers managed to help her to safety and tow the car from the water.

The flooding near to Eddlewood Sports Barn was caused by the heavy downpour but made worse by a burst sewage pipe.

When the Advertiser attended the scene on Monday, a drenched Mary listened as an AA worker explained to her that the BMW may need an entire new engine as a result of the incident.

Residents nearby explained that there were already complaints made to South Lanarkshire Council and Scottish Water about previous flooding in Devonhill Avenue.

Mary said this week: I didnt realise how deep the water was, as I dont know the road.

I thought it was flat. But then I soon realised I was in trouble when the car got stuck deep in water and I couldnt get out.

Luckily, there was a council van nearby and one of the guys waded in to help me out.

The water was right up past his knees. They attached a tow rope to my car and managed to haul it out.

The AA man is telling me the engine is knackered, so I dont know if the car is going to be written off.

She added: Im really miffed about this, especially as Scottish Water knew about flooding problems there already.

Eddlewood man Drew Buchanan, who was also at the scene, said: I had to help push a jeep out of the water earlier on.

I had my waders on but the water was really deep. If I went in again it would probably be past my waders.

Weve told the council about the problem here time and time again. So many cars have been damaged there.

There should be a sign put up to warn drivers about flooding.

Hamilton South councillor Joe Lowe, who spoke to Mary minutes after her car was towed out, blamed Scottish Water for the flooding.

It is the second time this sort of thing has happened in five weeks, he said.

There was about 2000 gallons of water in that dip, and it was all pouring down from a burst drain further up.

There is a blockage there, and when the rain is heavy, the drains cant take it.

What was lying in the gully was sewage. It cant go on. There are children playing here.

I sat at the flooded area with Scottish Water and EnviroClean until later that night to make sure everything was drained.

He continued: How many times does this have to happen? Some major work is needed to sort the problem.

Scottish Water have not been too clever on the whole issue, and I think they have neglected their duty.

Sometimes, they think they are a law unto themselves.

A spokesman for Scottish Water said: We had a report on Monday of flooding in Devonhill Avenue and we attended immediately.

A blockage of foreign objects was removed from the sewer and we are going to attend later this week to perform a sweep of the full length of the network in the area.

He added: We urge local people to Bag It and Bin It the only thing that should be flushed is toilet paper.

Sanitary towels, cotton buds, nappies etc should be placed in the bin with the household waste.

Flushing them results in a blockage of the sewer and causes flooding issues such as this.

A council spokesman added: The roads department are aware of intermittent flooding in the area.

We have been in touch with Scottish Water and understand that they have now identified the problem with a view to carrying out a permanent repair.

With this in mind we do not believe that signage is required at this time.