A homeowner has found himself forced to pump 4,000 litres of water out of his garden every time it rains amid his fight to find the source of a leak in his cellar.
Chris Hockaday, 68, from Plymouth, Devon, has faced ten months of constant flooding on the lowest floor of his house – and has not been able to figure out why.
The washout has seen the former firefighter spend a whopping £3,000 on having his garden dug out in a desperate search for the culprit.
Shocking images show his basement rendered defunct as a storage space, with everything moved off the floor and stacked high on shelves above amid the deluge.
And his once verdant, well-kept front garden has turned into a muddy dumping ground, with a hip-high pile of dirt and three-metre hole.
Mr Hockaday spends what should be a peaceful retirement pumping water out of the ditch day and night, just to stop his cellar from being consumed.
He ramps this up even further on rainy days, forced to siphon off the flow roughly every three hours and dealing with between 4,000 to 4,500 litres of water at a time.
The homeowner is determined the torrents of water are coming from outside his garden – and says they should therefore not be his responsibility.
Chris Hockaday (pictured), 68, from Plymouth, Devon, has faced ten months of constant flooding on the lowest floor of his house – and has not been able to figure out why
The washout has seen the former firefighter spend a whopping £3,000 on having his garden dug out (pictured) in a desperate search for the culprit
The homeowner said: ‘It looks like the Luftwaffe have dropped a bomb on my garden’. Pictured: The hole
But his pleas to the authorities, including the council and his water company, have not offered many answers, with who exactly is liable for the deluge unclear.
He said: ‘It looks like the Luftwaffe have dropped a bomb on my garden.
‘I was a firefighter so to be plagued by water now I am retired is quite ironic.
‘I am fairly able bodied and can look after my place up to a point but if I was really old or disabled and wasn’t able to, the whole of my cellar and office next door would all be flooded by now.’
Mr Hockaday said he has unsuccessfully sought help from Plymouth City Council, the lead flood risk authority locally.
‘Councillors haven’t volunteered to help me at all, even though I have reached out many times,’ he said.
‘Plymouth City Council won’t even try and hear my plight.
‘I have sought help with the Environment Agency, the council, South West Water and my own insurance.
His once verdant, well-kept front garden (pictured before the dig) has turned into a muddy dumping ground, with a hip-high pile of dirt and three-metre hole
Shocking images (pictured) show his basement rendered defunct as a storage space, with everything moved off the floor and stacked high on shelves above amid the deluge
Mr Hockaday spends what should be a peaceful retirement pumping water out of the ditch day and night, just to stop his cellar (pictured) from being consumed
‘But no one is doing anything about this. I just want the water to stop.’
The retiree said the hole is ‘absolutely essential’ in preventing more flooding in his basement rooms.
Up to 4,500 litres can accumulate in it in just three to four hours – and after that, it starts streaming into the cellar.
‘Just yesterday alone it had 750 litres in it, and the days before that 1,250 litres,’ he said.
‘If it doesn’t rain, I don’t have to pump it out everyday – but we’ve got a big storm coming this weekend.
‘That means I’m having to set my alarms for really early in the morning to pump out the hole – I’m up at all hours.’
The ordeal has taken its toll on Mr Hockaday, who is on anti-depressants and has suffered two chest infections, believed to be from damp water spores.
He noticed the flooding in the basement one day just after Christmas last year: ‘I have been here for 30 years and there has never been any problem at all.
The homeowner (pictured) is determined the torrents of water are coming from outside his garden – and says they should therefore not be his responsibility
But his pleas to the authorities, including the council and his water company, have not offered many answers, with who exactly is liable for the deluge unclear. Pictured: The hole
‘But when I got down there, I walked into a pile of water.’
The homeowner began using a wet and dry hoover to clear up to 160 litres a day from the cellar – but when that proved not enough, he decided to dig the hole.
‘I have been waking up at 5am and going out in my dressing gown to check the water levels,’ he told The Plymouth Herald.
‘This is my life now, I would love to go away and forget all this but I can’t. It’s a nightmare. No one is in any hurry to sort this out.’
When the retiree contacted his home insurance company, he was told they could not help him until he found the source of the water.
‘But I still haven’t got to that process of where the water is coming from!,’ he despaired.
South West Water said it had been working with Mr Hockaday ‘for some time’ on his situation.
The water company confirmed the floodwater he was experiencing was not due to any issues on its network.
The ordeal has taken its toll on Mr Hockaday, who is on anti-depressants and has suffered two chest infections, believed to be from damp water spores. Pictured: Mould in the basement
Up to 4,500 litres can accumulate in the hole in just three to four hours – and after that, it starts streaming into the cellar. Pictured: Water being pumped out of the hole
When the retiree contacted his home insurance company, he was told they could not help him until he found the source of the water. Pictured: The hole
A spokesperson said: ‘We have carried out detailed tests and CCTV investigations on our network and completed dye testing, with all results showing no connection to the floodwater – we have advised the homeowner to contact the council for further support.’
Meanwhile, Plymouth City Council said: ‘We have every sympathy for Mr Hockaday but we do not believe the water entering his property is from any of our highway assets.’
A CCTV survey of the two gullies near Chris’s home was carried out.
There were no issues with the connection between one of the drainage passages and South West Water’s combined sewer.
But there was found to be slight damage to the connection in the other channel.
The spokesperson said: ‘This was caused by BT when they installed infrastructure in the carriageway and we are chasing them to carry out the necessary repairs.
‘However, we do not believe this relatively minor damage would cause much, if any, water to enter the ground – and certainly not the ten to 30 litres a day Mr Hockaday reported.
‘Mr Hockaday reports water entering the property during dry spells as well as during rain and South West Water have confirmed the water contains chlorine, which would suggest it is from a clean water supply.
Mr Hockaday (pictured) said: ‘I have been waking up at 5am and going out in my dressing gown to check the water levels. This is my life now’
‘We have also brought to Mr Hockaday’s attention that there is a natural water course that runs under the properties at this location, which could well be causing or contributing to the problem.
‘As the homeowner, it would be his responsibility to protect his basement against this under “riparian rights”.’
Riparian rights are legal rights and responsibilities that come with owning land that borders a river, lake or stream.
The council said it would only be responsible for water entering a private property’s basement if it were due to issues with infrastructure it manages, like the main drain.
The spokesperson added: ‘We do not believe that to be the case here and we have explained this to Mr Hockaday.’
But when the hole was dug in his garden on April 26 this year, the homeowner said he asked contractors to dig past a line outside his garden boundary – to prove the water is coming in from the pavement.
The retiree said: ‘The water is clearly coming from outside my garden boundary – which is key to this riparian rule.
‘You can clearly see the freshwater running in on videos. The local council should therefore be helping me.’
BT has been contacted for comment.
