'It's like Niagara Falls in my garden': Family stuck in house after giant puddle appears by front door

A family has claimed they’re unable to leave their house after a giant puddle appeared outside their front gate – and no one is willing to take responsibility for it.

Marc Peck, 32, and his wife, Gemma, from Plymouth, were shocked when knee-deep water pooled outside their house.

The couple, who have a nine-year-old daughter, now say there is no way to leave without wading through the cold and dirty water.

After he spotted the water, Marc rang Plymouth City Council, who said he would have to wait for someone to visit and assess the body of water.

Marc, a delivery driver, said: ‘The only way out of our house is to wade through dirty water and get soaking wet.

‘Every time a car drives past too fast it’s like Niagara Falls in my garden.

Gemma said the council agreed to send someone round to sort the situation, but added that they didn’t state when – leaving the family trapped inside for an indefinite period of time.

Eventually, in desperation they contacted South West Water, who sent an engineer round to the property.

But the couple claim the engineer waded through the knee-height water before deciding that he wasn’t responsible for clearing it, after all.

A spokesperson for South West Water said: ‘We attended a report of external flooding in Peter’s Park Lane this morning and found two blocked highways gullies – which are the responsibility of the local council.

‘As he was on site, our operator tried rodding the gullies to see if this would clear them but they were too blocked. This will be reported to Plymouth City Council.

‘While in the vicinity, our operator checked the public sewerage network and found no problems.’

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The family, who have lived in the property since 2013, say that blocked drains have been a problem for years.

Gemma said: ‘Whenever it rains the drains will block and the streets will flood, but it has never been this bad before.’

Plymouth City Council has been approached for comment.