Express & Star

Rain brings that sinking feeling as Bilston couple's back garden becomes muddy pond

A frustrated couple have been left with a sinking feeling after watching in horror as their back garden turned into a muddy pond.

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Leena Marsh moved into her Bilston home three years ago and was looking forward to family barbecues with partner Kristopher Sarabadu.

But instead the 28-year-old has watched helplessly as her luscious green grass was left waterlogged.

The deep water covers more than half of her garden in Kynance Grove.

Ms Marsh believes the flooding is a result of botched drains, with water from neighbouring properties pouring into her own. But property developer Barratt Homes said the likely cause of the pooling is run-off from a raised terraced area installed by Ms Marsh since her move.

Ms Marsh, a marketing manager, said: "It's really awful when I first bought the property I couldn't wait to relax in my garden and now it's more like a boggy pond.

The couple make the most of a bad situation
Surveying the scene

"One day of rain leaves my garden flooded for a whole month. It's really awful."

"My garden has become a bit of a bowl – all the water from the neighbouring gardens drains into mine."

Adrian Farr, managing director at Barratt West Midlands, said: "In 2014, a year-and-a-half after the property was sold we were alerted to a potential problem with water pooling in Ms Marsh's garden.

"We undertook exploratory works and even though there was no evidence to suggest that the problem was a result of any landscaping design defect, as a gesture of good will we re-turfed the garden.

"During the investigation, our independent landscapers ascertained that the likely cause of the water pooling on the lawn, to be run-off from a raised terraced area which was installed by the customer since the property was purchased and which seemed to have inadequate drainage.

"We have advised Ms Marsh of this and as such declined a request to carry out a second investigation.

"We did however, again as a gesture of good will, offer to re-turf the lawn a second time or pay the cash equivalent in order for the garden to be put into a state so that the source of the problem could be rectified. Currently this offer has been declined.

"There are more than 140 homes occupied at this development and no other customers are experiencing problems with water pooling in their gardens. We take great pride in the homes we build and are focussed on putting customers at the heart of everything we do."

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