A NORTH Tawton family are clearing up after their fourth flood in one and a half years.

Michelle and Ian Simons believed their house would be safe following work by South West Water, but last Thursday water again poured into their property.

'The ground floor was flooded again, but this time it was sewage that was coming up through the drain outside the back door,' said Mrs Simons.

'South West Water came here to unblock the drain after the floods last October but they obviously did not sort the problem out.'

Mrs Simons said it was a very stressful time for her and her husband and their two children.

'We had just got straight after the last floods and now it has happened all over again — we will have to replace the carpets, kitchen cupboards and sofa beds and we have lost things we cannot replace like photographs,' she added.

Flooding problems have dogged North Tawton in recent years due to a number of factors including the flooding of the River Taw and the town's streams, surface water run-off from highways and an antiquated sewerage system.

MAFF, now DEFRA, has approved a bid for £300,000 in principal towards flood defence work in North Tawton but the total scheme is expected to cost as much as £750,000.

Mrs Simons said she just wanted peace of mind so when she went to bed at night she could be confident it would not happen again.

Spokesman for South West Water Stephen Swain said contractors were currently at the Simons' property and further investigation work was being carried out.

'Last October we found that there was a pipe bringing surface water into the sewerage system that should not have been, so we stopped that which reduced the risk of flooding occurring,' he said.

'Last Thursday there was another problem and we are now looking at the sewer pipe which runs close to the property.'

Mr Swain said the water company was intending to fit a non-return valve onto the sewer and sealing two manhole covers near the property to try and stop the flooding.

He added that major improvement work to the sewerage system was determined by SWW's regulators OFWAT.

'If it was identified that major work was required, it would be a matter for our regulators to bring it into our programme,' he said.