Haven Road flooding: Motorist hit with £600 repair bill

Alyssia Kelly says she is fedup of seeing floodwater in the Hythe, Colchester, cost people time and money as the enduring issue rains on.

And things recently came to a head for Ms Kelly when she claims she had no choice but to drive through deep water in Haven Road, causing significant damage to her car.

The 25-year-old was left with a £600 bill after the water wrecked her Ford Focus’ power steering, but she argues she was given little other option than to confront the water head-on.

Ms Kelly, who lives in Albany Gardens, Hythe, said: “When it floods, it floods really, really deep and gets deeper and deeper. It gets to a point where you can’t physically stop and turn around.

Splash - a petition to buy a pump to alleviate Haven Road flooding has launched

“When I reached the water I had a queue of cars in front me and behind; I couldn’t turn round and had no choice but to go through it.

“When I went through it completely killed the car’s steering, I lost all power steering functions.”

Ms Kelly explained she uses Haven Road on a daily basis as her main route in and out of Colchester to get to work, but it is now costing her time, as well as money.

She added: “It makes me late for work when I go through the town centre and it could ruin my car if I drive on Haven Road – we don’t have much choice.

“I’ve lived in the Hythe since November and I’d say it probably floods at least twice a day here and it can happen really quickly.

“The council needs to do something about it really as I understand it’s been going on for a long time.”

It follows a petition set up by car trader Dave Smith who claims business at his firm Auto Trade Link has been impacted by constant flooding.

He is now among many residents calling for Colchester Council to team up with environment bosses at County Hall and fund a pump to temporarily resolve the issue, at a hefty cost of £100,000.