Desperate pleas for Southern Water to upgrade it sewerage system were left unanswered amid an admission from the firm that it didn't know a pipe existed for almost 20 years.

Frustrated residents living in flood stricken Albert Road said they had "no faith in the system" after another meeting hosted by the authority last Thursday.

Having suffered three floods in the last four years, householders called on the firm to upgrade their pipework or install a water tank, ahead of a new housing development close-by.

But Paul Kent, environment and wastewater strategy manager at SW, maintained that isn't necessary - despite once saying it was.

Resident Dr Raju Sakaria was among those who walked out, blasting it "a waste of time".

She said: "It's worrying that residents of Albert Road just have to put up with things as they are.

"I feel that we are dealing with a company that has disregard for the community that it should be serving, its statutory duty or any ethical standards."

In a presentation, Mr Kent demonstrated that the pipes beneath the road have capacity for 250 litres of sewerage a second, with the existing flow around 3 litres a second.

But his slideshow was quickly disregarded as the floor erupted with questions.

Residents demanded to know why SW has reversed its recommendation for the road's foul main to be upgraded before property developer Quinn Estates builds 142 new homes at the former Park Avenue Motors site nearby.

He explained the reason for the turnaround was the discovery of an extra pipe in January 2016 which had not been detailed on the maps SW received when the UK's water industry was privatised in 1989.

Mr Kent said: "We do not need Quinn to make any improvements to the sewer system. We are happy with the system."

He used the analogy of a car. He said: "We'll service them but they might break down. We maintain the pumping station to minimise failure but we can't guarantee that there won't be a technical issue with our system."

But residents said they weren't willing to accept this, especially when it was acknowledged that Albert Road would always suffer because it is the "low point" in the town.

When asked if SW would "bolt down the man holes", the response was "no because it would transfer the problem elsewhere."

Insurance premiums have gone up for those living there, residents claimed, and others said they can't go on holiday without warning neighbours where the flood gates are in case of another foul water flood.

Mr Kent denied their calls for a tank in the event of excess rain, claiming this would only buy them a short amount of time.

He added: "I believe the assurance you would like is that we'll spend £100 million pounds and it [flooding] wouldn't happen again. Even if we do that we can't give you re-assurance that it won't happen because of mechanical errors."

With this, residents suggested the company should buy the 26 properties in the road and flatten them.

Kent County and Dover District councillor Trevor Bond told SW its system was "not robust".

He said: "This problem is going to get worse as more and more houses are built and there's more and more waste coming down Golf Road.

"Southern Water has a statutory obligation to remove sewerage in a safe manner and quite frankly I've lost count of the floods in the last 10 years.

"I find it alarming and I find it very hard to say Southern Water are going to address the issues purely by monitoring assets - something which they haven't been doing because it took them 16 years before getting the maps right. Clearly, your statutory obligation is not being fulfilled."

Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke met with residents on Friday to show his support.

He said: "The residents of Albert Road are angry with Southern Water - and rightly so.

"Their homes have been severely damaged several times and they need to see action to stop this happening again.

"So far we've forced Southern Water to upgrade the Gold Road pumping station and the Walmer outfall pipe.

"Now I'm pressing Ofwat and Southern Water to make sure producing a long-term fix to Albert Road's flooding issues is a top priority."