These were the scenes in Carshalton High Street on Saturday morning.

The Environment Agency issued a flood warning on Saturday stating that areas in the Caterham Bourne catchment area, including Beddington and Carshalton, were at risk of groundwater flooding.

Your Local Guardian:

The intense rainfall throughout December and January has led to a battle at the Kenley water treatment works to protect water supply and prevent severe flooding in Sutton, Epsom, Merton and Croydon.

Reshwan Ahmed, 21, the manager of Akos Barbers in Carshalton High Street, was working on Saturday when the road flooded and said: “I have been here a year now and never seen it like this.

“At the back of our shop the water came in – it’s OK now.

 

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An Environment Agency worker starts work on a flooded canal in Carshalton 

"On Saturday there was a lot and I had to get some sand bags – four or five of them. It was very bad on Saturday.

“We opened as usual because it was not coming into where we were working.

"If I hadn’t got the sandbags it would have come inside the shop. I have been speaking to our customers, some of them who have been coming here for 10 or 15 years and they’ve never seen anything like it before.”

Last Saturday the Westcroft Leisure Centre had to close due to flooding in a nearby culvert while the source of the River Wandle has started flowing again for the first time in 15 years turning it into a beauty spot for budding photographers.

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By Kevin Lewis

Recent heavy rains mean the Wandle now once again runs through Carshalton Park, from its historic source at the Grotto, and in the Grove park behind Westcroft Leisure Centre. 

Carshalton ward councillors Jill Whitehead, Hamish Pollock and Alan Salter issued a statement today saying they were taking up resident’s concerns about the recent flooding.

They said: “In recent weeks, the council has been working with its partners Thames Water, The Environment Agency and Transport for London to put measures in place to prevent flooding occurring and to reduce the level of water in the canals.

"As part of this work, a blockage in the sewer under the A232 has been removed and this has also been dredged of silt.

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“Obstacles such as litter and leaves have been removed from the canals, and from drains and sluices in Westcroft Road, Carshalton Place and the Hog Pit in Carshalton Park.

“A divert has also been cut into the Westcroft canal by the Grove Park so that it can drain into a ditch in the Grove Park to take excess waters away.

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“As a result, at the time of writing, the water is now flowing freely and water levels have started to reduce. However, we are continuing to monitor the situation and if the present bad weather continues we will continue to press the water agencies to take appropriate action.”

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Meanwhile, further up the road in Wallington one couple’s garden has flooded in the space of a few days believed to be caused by a nearby chalk quarry.

Your Local Guardian:

Jacky McClary stands in her flooded garden

Retired electronics worker Colin Mcclary, 69, said: “It’s unbelievable. We have watched it growing every day. We have got wheelbarrows down there covered.

“There are no rivers nearby – it is just rain. It is unbelievable. We have been hyere about 30 years and we have had a puddle over the years but we’ve never had anything like this.

“I was hoping it would freeze over and we could open an ice-skating rink.

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“We have got a sunken garden. Each day we have been taking pictures of it and this morning we got up and thought ah! It is ridiculous.

“It is a chalk base around here with about a foot of earth. I planted potatoes – I should have planted a paddy field. My shed is surrounded at the minute – my petrol mower and strimmer is all in there.”

Have you been affected by the flooding? Send your photographs to ssleigh@london.newsquest.co.uk

 


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