by Lewis Dyson

ldyson@thekmgroup.co.uk

Homes have been flooded with raw sewage and crashes have gone up as heavy downpours lash Kent.

On Minster Road, Halfway, 32mm of rain left drains failing to cope.

Homes have had their front and back gardens submerged several times in the last five weeks.

Elsewhere in the county, road accidents have increased as drivers lose control in hazardous conditions.

And in Kennington, near Ashford, a teenager died after collapsing while sheltering from storms.

Among those affected by the raw sewage on Sunday was Minster Road Baptist Church, which had filthy water in its foyer.

The problem was caused by a blocked sewer, Southern Water believe – most likely from a build-up of cooking fat or items that should be binned being flushed down toilets.

Former church secretary Ann Wagstaff was one of a group of people who took part in a two-hour clean-up on Monday morning.

She said: “It was pretty awful, raw sewage never smells sweet.”

Now Southern Water has urged business and homeowners to correctly dispose of items, including oil, which cause blockages in the sewerage system resulting in flooding.

Former Minster Road Baptist Church secretary Ann Wagstaff said flooding was an ongoing issue in the area.

She said: “The drains on Minster Road have got a problem and we have actually had problems about three or four times in the last five weeks.

“The back flow forces sewage up through the inspection chamber, which happens to be right by our front door.”

Mrs Wagstaff praised Southern Water for its prompt responses.

A crew arrived at 10pm on Sunday, after two reports of garden flooding and one of internal flooding.

A spokesman for the company said: “As soon as we were made aware of the situation, arrangements were made to resolve the problem and a sewer crew was immediately dispatched to the site.

“We are aware that this has happened before and we will be investigating the cause.

“Blockages are most commonly caused by a build up of fat, oil and grease in the sewer, which has entered it from customers’ sinks and by non-biodegradable items, such as sanitary towels, ear buds and cleaning cloths being flushed down the toilet. These should be put into the bin.

“We regularly clean and jet the sewers to help reduce the risk of blockages and we ask customers to bag it and bin it to help reduce the risk of blockages.”

Meanwhile, Inspector Geoff Woof, road policing department for Kent Police, said we all need to be more careful on our roads in these hazardous conditions.

He said: "Planning is important so ask yourself 'do I need to travel, would it be best to wait when the weather is not quite so bad?'

"Try and adapt your driving for the weather conditions - give yourself some more reaction time. If you're a pedestrian wear high visibility clothing."

"There's the risk of aquaplaning where you get a layer of water between your tyre and the road surface and you lose steering and braking because there's no friction - the important thing is stay calm, don't accelerate or brake - and keep the steering wheel straight."

He urged drivers to be particularly careful after long, dry periods followed by rain.