A homeowner’s garden was turned into swimming pool when flash floods swept through Lincolnshire.
Andrew Davison watched on in disbelief as water gushed into his garden from Church Street in Heckington and left his pond submerged on Saturday, June 3.
Torrential rain battered parts of the county in the afternoon and evening, leaving some people struggling to get out of their homes.
It took less than an hour for the water to fill up Andrew’s garden, after travelling through the back gate.
The 56-year-old told Lincolnshire Live: “It got within millimetres of getting into the house – it was absolutely chucking it down.
“It overwhelmed Church Street and all of the water cam over our dropped curve, through the back gate and into the garden.
“The road was completely awash.
“It was about four inches high at the car park and a few inches in the garden.
“It was absolutely hammering it down and within 20 minutes we had a river.
“It was quite an interesting experience.”
Andrew was forced to fish tadpoles off the grass after his pond became overwhelmed with water.
Thankfully, the water has since disappeared and it didn’t cause too much damage – but it’s left a foul smell.
“It stinks, the garden is covered in black muck – I’m going to have to get the power wash out and clean it up,” said Andrew.
Andrew, who has lived in the 220-year-old house for two years, said he was left equally frustrated by motorists driving 4x4s along Church Street creating tidal waves as the rain fell.
And he wants to see Lincolnshire County Council do more to keep the drains clear.
He said: “The drains could not cope with the water, so when something like this happens the water has nowhere to go but down.
“We lifted a manhole to try and send some of the water to the drain but it was no use.
“My beef is the roads need to be maintained because if the drains were clear then I don’t think it would have happened – but I know the council haven’t got a lot of money.”
Councillor Gill Ogden, who represents Billinghay for North Kesteven District Council but lives in Heckington, said: “It was pretty nasty at one point – it was torrential.
“I could see the bottom of the tyres disappearing under the water.
“We had some flooding too.
“The drains can’t cope really, but I know the county council is in a tough position.”
Leadenham, Lincoln, Spilsby, East Kirkby, Coningsby and Heckington were all affected yesterday - and in Woodhall Spa, sandbags were brought out to stop water going into people's homes, according to posts on Facebook.
Boston Road in Spilsby was described as a ‘river’ by locals.
The flash floods came after experts predicted thunderstorms and heavy rainfall for the county earlier this week.
Lincolnshire Live has contacted Lincolnshire County Council for comment.