FURIOUS residents in a quiet Westhoughton street have blasted United Utilities after their homes were flooded for the 10th time in a month.

Homeowners in Thorn Well cleared large amounts of water coming from land belonging to United Utilities on Saturday night.

The homes have been flooded 10 times since the devastating Boxing Day floods and on Saturday residents spent up to four hours through the night brushing water away from their properties.

Bolton Council has stepped in to support the families over the past month by bringing gully trucks to remove the water and providing sandbags, dehumidifiers and alternative accommodation.

Devastated mother-of-four Gaynor Ratcliffe said: “I can’t believe this is still happening.

“At the beginning I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving my home and refused to but now what can I do? It’s become unbearable.

“We can’t even live like a normal family because as soon as the rain pours we’re out in our coats and wellies sweeping water away from our homes.

“United Utilities guaranteed me on a phone call which was being recorded, that the next time the flooding starts to call their emergency line so they could come out right away and help.

“That’s what I did on Saturday and I was told during another recorded phone call that it wasn’t their responsibility and it was down to Bolton Council to sort it out.

“The woman could hear my daughter’s distressed cries and still nothing was done.”

Dianne Conroy, who lives next door with her husband Stephen and their teenage daughter, said: “It’s ridiculous, we just want it sorted out so we don’t have instant fear every time it starts to rain.

“United Utilities need to step up and do something about this now. The water is coming from their land nowhere else.”

Cllr Anna-Marie Watters, of Westhoughton South ward, said: “It’s absolutely awful, some responsibility needs to be taken by United Utilities and a thorough investigation needs to be carried out.

“The families can’t go on like this, their front gardens have been turned upside down and it looks like a building site.”

Cllr David Chadwick, of Westhoughton South, agreed and added: “It looks more like a bomb site now.

“If this was a council problem we could do what was needed to sort it out.

“We can’t comprehend spending a massive amount of money to do what we can to fix the problem if it turns out that the issue really does lie with United Utilities on their land.

“It’s for them to investigate before we can do anything else.”

A Bolton Council spokesman said: “Council officers have attended the flooding site and are working closely with residents, partners and volunteer organisations to help with the clear up and we have arranged accommodation and food for the families affected to give them respite and time to recover.

“Financial support and advice are available to those affected by the floods with council tax relief and financial support grants of up to £5000, which can be applied for to help improve their property’s resistance to flooding in the future.

“We will continue to support those affected through this difficult period and work with partner organisations to put in place measures to prevent this happening again.”

A spokesman for United Utilities said the issue was being investigated.