Residents in a North Staffordshire town have been battling repeated incidents of flooding for more than eight years.

A section of The Avenue in Kidsgrove puddles with water meaning pedestrians regularly have to walk in the road and cars have to dodge out of the way.

The incidents have also caused some damage to nearby properties as the water pools on the side of the road then streams down to properties.

The issue was first raised by Kidsgrove resident David Barber more than five years ago after speaking with neighbours, although the problem has existed for much longer.

Mr Barber said he had raised the repeated flooding with the town, borough and county council and even the town's MP and still the problem has not been solved.

He said: "School children going to the Kings School can't pass through it, no one can pass through it.

"They have to walk in the middle in the road, it then runs down the drive and it is actually running into garages.

"It is unacceptable that you're putting kids at risk or anyone at risk by having to make them walk in the road, especially when they've known about it for so long."

The incidents have also caused some damage to nearby properties (image via David Barber)

The problem was raised in parliament by former MP Jonathan Gullis in October 2020 who said repairs were finally being made. However, five years later nothing has been done and the problem persists.

Speaking in the 2020 debate, Mr Gullis said: "An investigative team from the council was sent out and discovered a severe blockage in the drains on both sides of the road.

"Repairs are finally being made, but the stress it caused residents is extremely unwelcome."

Stephen Giffen, who lives in a property affected by the flooding moved in more than eight years ago and said the problem existed then.

He said: "Earlier this year they came out and sucked out everything in the pipes and all the water because there was a great big puddle. The next day the puddle was back because it poured with rain that night.

"There are children going to school during rush hour, cars just fly by, they don't care and the water gathers on both sides of the road, so you just get the two converging. So you get the possibility of cars being too close together.

"There hasn't been an accident but at the same time you've got children trying to get to school every day. So it's a no win situation for anybody."

Patrick Allen, Cabinet Member for Highways at Staffordshire County Council, said: "We have more than 165,000 gullies across our road network and strive to ensure we keep them as free-flowing as possible.

"Our crews have carried out jetting work to the gullies in the area on a number of occasions. However, in some cases they were unable to fully clear the system because of parked cars blocking the gullies.

"Crews will be revisiting the area to carry out further cleaning and will be notifying people in advance of the work. We would ask people to avoid parking on the road when this work is scheduled to take place, so crews can easily access the area."