Canvey man forced to clear debris blocking the drains on his street

Colin Letchford noticed that many of the drains on his road, Maurice Road, Canvey, had been blocked with debris and weeds which was limiting the amount of water that could enter the drains.

So Mr Letchford, who is 70 years old, went out on his mobility scooter and cleared the drains himself.

Over the course of six days, Mr Letchford managed to clear up 20 bin bags worth of rubbish amounting to 631kg.

Mr Letchford said: "The roads need to be cleaned.

"My own street, Maurice Road, was overgrown with weeds, and several of the gullies at the seafront end in Eastern esplanade were similarly choked with weed growth.

"I decided to clean the gutters myself and it took me almost a week to do both sides of the southern end of Maurice Road. Some of the weeds were almost half a metre high.

"I am retired and I use a mobility scooter, but I went around in it and picked up the stuff.

 “If the system is just left as it is, then the next time who knows?

"If we get really bad torrential rain that washes down the weeds, it will block the drains and we will get more flooding. Prevention is better than cure.”

Less than two weeks ago, Essex was hit with heavy rain which caused minor flooding in the area.

Although Canvey managed to avoid bad flooding, the island has suffered terribly in the past, most recently in 2013.

A spokesperson for Anglian Water said: “Surface water drainage is often a very complex issue and can be responsibility of many different organisations and individuals. 

In the case of the road drains on Maurice Road in Canvey, they are the responsibility of the local Highways Authority to maintain.”

A spokesperson for Essex County Council and Essex Highways said: “We spray a licensed weed-killer twice a year, in June and October.

"It kills growing weeds on contact, but has no lasting effects in the area.

"There are three drains on Maurice Road logged as requiring clearing, which will be done when our crew is next in this area.”