Anglian Water has offered a ray of hope for homeowners in Watton who have been left with hefty repair bills after repeated flooding.People living in certain areas of the town say they have suffered flooding problems for as long as they can remember and have been calling for action to alleviate the problem.

Anglian Water has offered a ray of hope for homeowners in Watton who have been left with hefty repair bills after repeated flooding.

People living in certain areas of the town say they have suffered flooding problems for as long as they can remember and have been calling for action to alleviate the problem.

In the latest incident, several properties in Langmere Road were inundated with water during last weekend's heavy rain.

Now Anglian Water has revealed it is working to find a permanent solution to the town's drainage issue, but the utility company has also said people must think more about what they put down the drain.

Watton town councillor Barbara Alexander, lives on Langmere Road and was affected by the flooding on Sunday. She said: “The water in my toilet was up to the top for more than five hours.

“People had flood water all over their gardens and one person's conservatory was flooded with water and sewage.

“I know there was a lot of rain but that cannot be right.

“This problem has been going on ever since I have been here, which is more than 10 years, but it has got considerably worse in the last two or three years and now we want answers to why that is.”

Earlier this year Anglian Water surveyed all homes in Watton to discover the extent of the flooding problem.

It has now used the responses to draw up a plan of action.

A company spokesman said: “The response to the survey was excellent and more than three quarters of customers sent in a reply.

“This helped us to build up a picture of what is happening.

“We are working with the highways department and we are looking at the issue of cross contamination between foul sewage and surface water. If there are any cross connections we will be looking to rectify them.”

But she said the sewerage system would be greatly improved if those living in the area gave more consideration to what they were putting down the drains, as blockages remained a serious problem.

“We have also done extensive CCTV camera work and there is quite a lot of debris in the drains including disposable bathroom items such as sanitary towels,” she said.