A dad is demanding answers after his garden flooded and his children’s toys were covered in sewage for a fifth time.

Paul, of Wilmot Road, Dartford, is calling for the authorities to take responsbility after the recent heavy rain left his property floating in a sea of stinking waste water.

He said: “The main sewer in our street just cannot cope with the amount of rain we have had. It backed up into our drains and overflowed out of a loose manhole cover in my neighbour’s side passage.

“The excess water poured into our garden and I now have sewage all over my kids’ garden toys.”

And it’s not the first time this has happened.

The dad-of-two said the situation has occurred five times in the past seven years and he is now battling to find out what is causing the problem, which is affecting his whole street.

He said: “The floodwater should not be getting into the sewer. Maybe it could have been caused by blocked storm gulleys due to recent tree felling, as the storm drains were also overflowing.

“We don't know whose responsibility it is yet. The sewers were clear of blockages. The storm drains overflowed so it's likely they are blocked, possibly by all the tree lopping that the council have been doing. So that would be Kent County Council’s (KCC’s) responsibility.

“Also Thames Water suspected that residents may have been connecting rain guttering into the drains rather than creating soakaways when building extensions. This overloads the sewers as they aren't designed for it.

The IT professional is calling on Thames Water and KCC to investigate the issue and one of them to be held accountable.

A Thames Water spokesman said: "We responded to reports of flooding on Wilmot Road, Dartford, on Wednesday, June 21.

"Our teams identified the wet weather as the cause of flooding where our sewers became overwhelmed with rainwater. We cleared our pipes and thoroughly cleaned the surrounding area.

‘Now I have sewage all over my kids’ garden toys’

"We are sorry to those who have been affected by the flooding.

“Our teams are in contact with residents to discuss options to reduce risks of flooding and carry out further investigations to keep our pipes flowing."

Despite the issue being logged as an emergency, Mr Wheeler said he has yet to be visited by KCC despite the flooding happening on June 20.

KCC said it continues to ensure its gullies in the area are clear in line with its inspection regime.