RESIDENTS are demanding action after their homes were ruined by the recent flash floods.

Terrified homeowners leapt from their beds at 4am Friday to find water gushing through their front doors.

Steve Pringle lives with his mum, Brenda, who is recovering from chemotherapy, in Bridge Close – one of the worst affected areas.

The 28-year-old said his mum has had to move to his sisters after almost 2ft of water flooded their ground floor.

He said: "We have continuously complained about the drains, for about a year now.

"They have been out numerous times to check it but said it was fine.

"It is a shame that something has had to happen like this for people to actually come and clear it."

Mr Pringle is currently living on take-away food after their kitchen was ruined by the storm.

He said: "We've not only had to pay for the pump to help get rid of the moisture, but we are also paying rent for a house we can barely live in."

Three weeks' worth of rain fell on Oxfordshire in just three hours on Friday morning.

Thames Water arrived in the evening to remove bricks and rubble blocking one of the drains.

Mr Pringle's neighbour Richard Williams said the drains played a part in the homes flooding.

The father-of-two said: "Every time we get a bit of rainfall, that area gets filled up with water because the drain is blocked but no one wants to do anything about it, no one is interested.

"Something needs to be put in place to improve the state of the drainage here."

Thames Water said Friday's storms, which also flooded Didcot Parkway railway station, meant a large amount of rainwater went into its sewer pipes.

A spokesman said: "Our pipes are designed to carry wastewater, not floodwater, meaning once they are full, water has nowhere else to go but back up the pipe, up through the drain and out onto the street."

Didcot town councillor Margaret Davies, slammed Thames Water and South Oxfordshire District Council for not upgrading the drainage system.

She said: "There is a real problem in terms of the drainage infrastructure in the older part of the town and there needs to be some work done by the district council and Thames Water."

South Oxfordshire District Council spokesman Gavin Walton said: "The main road flooding in Didcot was caused by drains not being able to cope due to the excess water, and from obstructions which had come about from the earlier storm.

"Thames Water look after these drains and we’ve asked them to investigate and organise any suitable clearance work."

For a full report of flooding across the region see page five.