Man can’t turn right from his drive due to ‘nightmare’ 100m puddle

Is it a road, or is it a river? (Picture: SWNS)

A joiner is begging his local council to do something about the huge puddle making his life a misery.

Andy Tebbutt says the murky pool is constantly there throughout the winter on the road outside his home.

It is so deep that he says he cannot even turn right from his driveway in Halling, near Rochester in Kent.

‘I’ve given up getting in contact with the council about it. I am fed up with it as it’s a nightmare,’ he said.

‘It’s not a pothole; it’s at least 100 metres long and takes up the whole road so you can’t avoid it unless you drive all the way around.

Self-employed Andy, 59, is questioning why he’s paying £3,500 a year in council tax and says he has had enough.

He built his home on Pilgrims Road himself in the late 1990s but says the access is getting ‘worse and worse’.

The back road into Upper Halling has long been subjected to flooding due to the surrounding landscape of sloping fields and the existing, inadequate drainage system.

Although Mr Tebbutt has called on Medway Council to raise the level of the road and install a functioning drainage system, he says the council have told him they can’t afford to do the work.

The water currently reaches at least up to the bumpers of most cars, with video of the road showing how cars send up a big splash on either side if they attempt to drive through.

‘We could have a dry period for probably up to two weeks and it will still be flooded,’ Andy said.

‘I have worked hard all my life and I don’t mind paying my tax, but why should I pay my council tax in full if I can’t turn right out of my home?

The road doesn’t look much better when the water recedes (Picture: Kent Online/SWNS)

‘The only way I can drive through it is with my van, but even then I am worried it’s going to cause it damage as I can see steam coming off my tyres.

‘My daughter and wife can’t do that though, as they fear for what it’s going to do to their cars.

‘It’s been going on for more than four years.

‘There’s no maintenance whatsoever.’

Andy has little hope he will get his desired outcome, however.

It’s understood that potential solutions are likely to be financially challenging for the local authority at a time when most are struggling to balance their budgets.

Given it isn’t too busy a road, it would also be difficult to justify both the investment needed and why it should be prioritised over other, busier roads that regularly flood.

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