RESIDENTS have been left devastated after rain water flooded their properties for the second time in just over three weeks.

Ankle-deep water flowed into houses on Waterside Lane, Colchester, as freak rainfall meant water came in from the nearby Distillery Pond yet again.

Karen Fox, 55, had four fire crews pumping water out of her home on Friday morning and back into the River Colne.

She said: “We are in exactly the same situation as we were three weeks ago.

“All of my possessions were out of the house from the flooding before and we have had dryers in here attempting to fix things but now we are right back to square one, and even further behind than that.”

Ms Fox said property company PMS Leasehold Management which has jurisdiction over nearby Distillery Pond should have done more to help.

She said: “Whenever exceptionally high tides come in or freak weather is predicted they should change things in the pond using certain valves.

“Water from the pond is pumped in old Victorian pipes under my house and I am not sure if they are even fit for purpose.

“They have one handyman who comes out and tries to do his best but it just is not enough.”

Ms Fox has lived in the house since August 2014 but only experienced flooding for the first time last month.

She had been forced to collect sandbags in a bid to ward off more water from expected further storms.

Other neighbouring homes were also devastated by the water levels which seeped into several properties.

A spokesman for PMS which is responsible for maintaining Distillery Pond, said: “We wish to apologise to those householders adjacent to the pond whose properties have been flooded as a result of the torrential downpour.

“We are trying to resolve this issue as a matter of priority and are awaiting permission from a group of other residents to carry out vital  work to prevent this from happening again.

“We carried out repair works two years ago to rectify problems; these latest floods are nothing to do with those works. The pond drains into the nearby River Colne but twice in the past month we have had an absolute deluge of rainfall which has coincided with a high tide, preventing the floodwater from escaping freely.

“The drainage system is of Victorian construction and is complicated and there are other issues involving third parties where we have no control.”