A collapsed drain in Fownhope which has not been fixed by Balfour Beatty and the County Council to whom they answer is making it unsafe for children to walk to school, according to residents living the local area.

The flooding is caused by a collapsed drain where the Woolhope Road meets the B4224 in Fownhope.

Parent, Mrs Stedman, told the Ross Gazette: “It’s unsafe for the children to cross the road to school. We live in a dead end road so have no choice but to cross here. I’m teaching my children to cross safely to school, cross the B4224 first, then the Woolhope Road. But when flooded it is so deep we have cross on the diagonal across both roads at once. It also means the children now think it’s alright to cross crossroads on the diagonal which makes it unsafe even when it’s not flooded.

“We cannot go the other way because the house on the corner butts right up into the road and is on a blind bend so vehicles cannot see me, never mind primary school aged children who are short and not as savvy about vehicles. There is no way to cross without their feet and legs being soaked."

A spokesperson for Fownhope Parish Council said: “Fownhope Parish Council has been working with Balfour Beatty on the problem of flooding at the junction of the B4224 with Woolhope Road and Ferry Lane for several years.  The Parish Council recently commissioned a private contractor to investigate the pipework running from the drain to the nearby Tan Brook, which identified that a two metre section of the pipe has collapsed."

A Herefordshire Council spokesperson told the Ross Gazette: "We are aware of the drainage issue at this location and last attended to clean gullies in December 2018. There are a number of gullies in this location and further work to some of them is needed to remove roots and inspect pipework. This is in our forward programme of works. It is not possible to provide a precise date at this time, but we will update the Parish Council and others as soon as we are able to."See the full story in this week’s edition of the Ross Gazette, or subscribe to our online edition here