ANGRY residents living in Exmouth s Colony are losing their patience over persistent problems with blocked drains.

ANGRY residents living in Exmouth's Colony are losing their patience over persistent problems with blocked drains.

Scores of homeowners remain frustrated with South West Water and Devon County Council, the authorities responsible for managing drains and pipes in the area, claiming they are still not maintained often enough.

Ann Prior, of Egremont Road, said: "They need sorting before the winter comes and the inevitable bad weather, otherwise we are going to have big problems down here with flooding.

"Every storm drain is full. Toys, sticks, building rubble, bits of plastic - you name it, it's stuck down there."

The fresh concerns come just weeks after residents in nearby New Street spoke of similar problems in their road - people who, similarly, criticised the authorities for poor maintenance.

Ms Prior added: "The drains are not properly cleaned. Residents are getting quite impatient about nothing being done to sort this out, once and for all.

"I'm disabled, so I don't get outdoors much, otherwise I would go out and campaign.

"If push comes to shove, we will have to set up a neighbourhood meeting in order to press for action and get the drains sorted."

Graham Buist, who also lives in Egremont Road, said: "This issue makes everybody in the area frustrated. Nobody seems to want to do anything about it.

"Fortunately, we haven't had any bad rain storms as yet because we are in the summer. Come the autumn, however, it may be a different story."

A spokesman for South West Water said they had surveyed the sewerage system in The Colony 12 months ago and found no long-term issues with the integrity of the network.

"We are aware of some recent flooding in Egremont Road and will be carrying out further investigations in that location," he explained.

"If we find any problems that require regular inspection, it will be added to our planned sewer cleansing programme."

A spokesman for Devon County Council said torrential rainfall could cause localised, short-term flooding in areas of Exmouth.

She said this sort of flooding was usually associated with high intensity storms outstripping the capacity of the main drainage system.

Residents can report any problems on 0845 155 1015.