A RESIDENT who has endured severe flooding in her street for 22 years is calling on the council to splash the cash and pay to have the drains updated.

Grandmother-of-two Christine Evans has seen three cars towed away from her home in Milton Street, Swanscombe, because of flooding.

The area is on a flood plain and the drains cannot cope following heavy rainfall.

In August last year, flash floods left the street under more than a foot of water, stranding vehicles and sending waves crashing against houses.

Mrs Evans said: "My concern is eventually no-one will insure me.

"It's desperate. The couple next door had two cars flooded and they moved away as they couldn't cope."

Kent County Council (KCC), which is responsible for the drains, confirmed the street is in a high-risk flood area and says it hopes to update the area's drainage system this year.

The work will cost in the region of £48,000 and involve installing soakaways underground pits which absorb overflow from rainwater pipes or land drains.

The pits, which require a licence from the Environment Agency to install, would take excess water therefore stopping it flooding the street.

A KCC spokesman said: "By April there should be a much clearer picture of the allocation of money and when work can begin."

Under the Freedom of Information Act, News Shopper has discovered KCC has paid out £15,286 in flood-related property and vehicle compensation claims in the Swanscombe area over the past decade.

Mrs Evans, 58, said: "When they call it compensation it is not compensation, it is just the indemnity they pay to the insurance company.

"It makes them look generous but it is a false economy to keep paying insurance companies.

"The compensation I received for my car was so low I had to take a bank loan out to buy a new one.

"£48,000 sounds a lot but it probably isn't in the scheme of the council's budget.

"It would be well advised to spend the money and stop the misery it is causing residents."