An MP has been forced to leave her home and will have to pay “thousands of pounds” to redecorate it after it was flooded during torrential downpours.

Helen Whately was at her house, in a village near Faversham, with her two children, aged six and seven, when they noticed the road outside was “turning into a river” yesterday afternoon.

When the water then started to flow through the back door the three of them hurriedly tried to clear it from the kitchen.

“But then it started coming through the front and we realised there was no stopping it, so we evacuated," the Faversham and Mid Kent MP said.

“It was lucky I was there because I was able to rescue some furniture and precious, sentimental items before we left.”

Ms Whately is currently staying with friends and has been told the clean-up will take between two and three months.

“There’s now a coating of mud over everything on the ground floor,” she said.

“It’ll cost thousands of pounds. It’ll need new carpets and to be redecorated downstairs. Also, all of the appliances were soaked and will need to replaced.

“I managed an emergency rescue of my letters, but I think there’ll be a few delays responding to them.”