RESIDENTS are facing 'hell' after work on a new housing development has seen their gardens become water logged.

Householders in Badgers Close and Deer Park, Huncoat, have blamed ‘floods’ in their gardens over recent weeks on work preparing the ground for new properties in the area.

They said this comes after trees were removed from near Foxwood Chase as part of the Morris Homes scheme.

Mike Catterall, 72, who has lived in Badgers Close for 17 years, said: “It’s so annoying, it’s absolutely crazy what we have to put up with.

“It’s just waterfalls of water running down into our garden every time it rains.

“Those trees stopped the water running down but now it just rushes straight down into our gardens.

“Our gardens get waterlogged every time, we’ll have three years of hell when the building starts.”

An initial application for the site was rejected in December 2014 to the ‘delight’ of residents at the time.

However proposals for 27 properties to be built on the land off Foxwood Chase were then resubmitted in December 2015 before being approved in April 2016.

A Flood Risk Assessment from Morris Homes at the time said there was a ‘low probability’ of flooding at the site.

More than 20 objections were also received by Hyndburn Council at the time from residents of Foxwood Chases, Deer Park and Badgers Close, and listed flooding as a concern as well as traffic concerns.

Cllr Eamon Higgins, who represents the area on the council said: “Residents are coming to me on a regular basis to talk about these problems.

“There are six or seven homes that I’m continuously talking to.

“Since they’ve started cutting down trees the houses are having a real problem with flooding.

“Everytime it rains heavily they are facing these issues.”

Hyndburn Labour MP candidate Graham Jones has visited the area and has been campaigning for a solution to be found.

He said: “I’m on the side of the residents, it’s totally and utterly unacceptable.

“It’s just a swamp that they have to put up with, it’s spilling out into neighbouring homes.

“I really haven’t the words to describe about how all this has been allowed to come out.”

The finished development is set to feature 13 three bedroom and 14 four bedroom properties.

A spokesman for Morris Homes said the firm was unavailable for comment.