An elderly couple in Ballasalla say they have been left distressed and frightened after repeated flooding outside their property – a problem they claim has still not been resolved despite earlier complaints.

John and Suzanne Ward, aged 95 and 90, live at Waters Meet at the bottom of Phildraw Road. They were affected by heavy rainfall on Tuesday morning (November 4), which caused water to pool outside their home and left them fearing it would enter the house.

Mrs Ward said she was unable to open her front door for fear of the water rushing in. Fire and Rescue Service crews attended at around 9.20am and spent about an hour using pumps to divert the water away from the property and clear the immediate area.

Mrs Ward said: ‘I thought it was going to come into the house. Fortunately, I had cleared all the drains and cleaned out the gully so water could get away, but it was such a heavy flow that it couldn’t be stopped. I was actually quite frightened.’

The couple say two roadside drains on either side of their driveway have been blocked for several months. When it rains heavily, they claim, water runs down from neighbouring properties and collects directly in front of their home, which sits at the lowest point on the road.

Mr Ward said: ‘Our problem is that the drainage system on that road opposite our property is not working right. As you drive out of our property, there’s a drain on the right and a drain on the left - those two drains don’t work right. They seem to be blocked.

‘The reason I know they’re blocked is that water in heavy showers accumulates on the road, and the camber slopes towards our property. If the rain is heavy enough, it flows in. Ours is the lowest house on the road, so it affects us the most. That’s what happened on Tuesday morning - and it’s not the first time.’

The couple also experienced significant flooding in early September, prompting their daughter, Anne, to email the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) to highlight the problem. The message was sent on September 8, but she did not receive a response until early October, confirming the issue had been logged.

Mr Ward added: ‘I’m 95 and I’m deaf, while my wife and I both have heart conditions. We’ve reached that stage in life where this situation is very stressful, and it feels as though nothing is being done to stop it happening again.’

Isle of Man Today contacted the DOI for comment on Tuesday (November 4). Representatives from the department visited the couple at their home the following morning to inspect the site.

A DOI spokesperson said: ‘The camber of the road is designed to lead the water to the gullies. But due to it being that time of year and a lack of maintenance, the water was unable to be drained.

‘Responsibility for gully maintenance lies with the local authorities [in this case, Malew Commissioners].

'We appreciate their ongoing efforts and recognise that, particularly during the high rainfall over the last two days, gully blockages can occur rapidly due to falling leaves and other debris.’

But a spokesperson for Malew Commissioners said the DoI only notified them of the issue on Wednesday morning (November 5). A spokesperson for the Commissioners said: 'The road in question is swept fortnightly and the gullies were cleared earlier in the year and are due to be done again in the next few weeks (after the majority of the leaves have fallen.'