A major supplier to the rail industry says its future trading prospects are being put at risk due to flooding caused by fly-tipping.

The impact of fridges, tyres and other items dumped in roadside ditches near the River Darent has left the factory floors of Dartford Composites unfit for use and the owner with a hefty bill.

The specialist fibreglass manufacturer has been unable to trade since Friday, January 29 when staff turned up to find the majority of the 9,000sq ft factory under water.

Tankers have been brought in this week and have removed 135,000 gallons of water and are still pumping at a rate of £2,500 a day.

The company counts Transport for London, Southeastern and Govia Thames Link among repeat customers for repair and refurbishment jobs.

So far it has managed to withstand the impact of Covid-19 and says Brexit had even seen it attract new custom.

But now Mark Silvester, who runs the business with wife Ruth, says its future is under threat due to the increased risk of flooding caused by roadside fly-tipping.

The director estimates a shortfall of around £30,000 for the two weeks of missed business alone.

Mr Silvester said: "They [the ditches] have got more tyres than Dunlop and more fridges than Currys.

"The issue is that due to the ditches not being cleared and maintained, the water table has now reached the point where it is higher than ground level."

He explained the ditches operate similar to dykes found in Holland which guard against flooding.

"I don't know what we are going to do," he added. "Unless the ditches are cleared and subsequently maintained this situation is going to get considerably worse.

"There are multiple firms affected but we are at the lowest point so all surface water runs into our premises."

The business's location close to the Crayford Marshes means it is at increased risk of flooding with past issues linked to temporary pumping station failures.

But the fly-tipping along Wallhouse Road, leading to the Darent Industrial Estate, is now said to have caused drainage issues, it is claimed.

"This is the worst we have seen it in 15 years," said marketing director Ruth, who has been unsuccessful so far in tracking down who is responsible for clearing the ditches.

"I have done bottom up to top down to get through," she explains after contacting both Bexley council and the Environment Agency (EA).

Common law imposes a duty on the owner of land adjoining a highway to maintain ditches that provide natural drainage for both the land and highway.

In the majority of cases the responsibility for ditch maintenance rests with the adjacent landowner.

Bexley council says it is not the landowner and is attempting to contact them and the EA to resolve the problems.

But maintenance of the private access road, classed as a byway, has been subject to a complicated and long history of complaints made by businesses.

The Land Registry has the ownership in a pending status, with owners of the ditches listed up until June 2020 – but this company is now dormant and is understood to have no assets or landholdings in the area.

As a byway the council says it does not have responsibilities for the land underneath or alongside the paved surface or the ditches.

Meanwhile Ruth says "the factory is still under about 10 inches of water" with no end to the matter in sight.

Tankers will remain on site until the end of the week to clear the issue but she hastens to add this is only a short-term solution.

She said: "It is essential that we have production operating again as soon as possible as we primarily work for the rail industry and the projects work to extremely tight deadlines.

"If we delay a train the penalty could be in the region of £1,000 per day."

It's an urgent cause for concern for the business which won the "Made in Bexley” category at last year's local business awards, and whose clients have already placed orders for later this month.

"They are not parts that can wait," explains Ruth. "It is due to go out on train mid February. If we don't put them in there are penalty clauses."

A Bexley council spokesman said: "We are not the landowner at Wallhouse Road so are not responsible for the cleaning or maintenance of the ditches alongside it.

"Despite not owning this land, our team has been in touch with the flooded business and will be contacting the landowner and the Environment Agency to try to get the issue resolved."

It later added: "The council maintains the paved or asphalt surface and clears this surface of debris and waste to ensure it is usable and safe.

"We have not been able to make contact with the owners of the ditches as yet."

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “The Environment Agency and Bexley Council are working with the police, local business and landowners on the estate to address the concerns around fly-tipping and the impact on the environment and local businesses.

"We were made aware of the increase in fly-tipping in recent months and of the recent flooding.

"We have experienced a prolonged period of wet weather through this winter which has caused groundwater levels to rise. We believe that this has been the cause of recent flooding in and around the industrial estate."

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