A WOMAN told how her husband had to rescue her as she hung out her washing in their back garden — after she began suddenly sinking into the ground.

Janice Macdiarmid had to be pulled from the bog that has formed at the rear of their home in Lyle Road after a mysterious water leak turned the area into a swamp.

Janice and her husband Jim, both 49, have been forced to spend hundreds of pounds on private contractors in a bid to the root of the problem, which began nine weeks ago.

But despite being told the likely source is a burst water pipe deep underground, experts have so far been left baffled by the actual cause.

The fed-up couple have this week forked out more than £600 on private contractors to dig several feet down and investigate.

But their efforts so far have been in vain as workers struggle to find what has left their garden saturated and large parts badly flooded.

Their patio has also been completely destroyed.

Mum-of-one Janice, who was recently made redundant, told how she had to be pulled from the ground by Jim as she began sinking into the quagmire.

The couple, who have lived in their home for 12 years, say they are now at their wits end — and have asked for help from Inverclyde Council and Scottish Water to help locate the faulty pipe or dodgy drainage.

Janice told the Tele: “I went out to hang out my washing and suddenly I was just sinking in it and Jim had to pull me out.

“It’s like a bog — a complete mess.

“We first noticed it when Jim went out to cut the grass and it felt like a trampoline underfoot. We got a landscape gardener in and as soon as he dug down a wee bit into the ground, the water started flowing.

“The council said it’s a drainage issue, but I didn’t know we had drains or pipes directly under the ground here at all.

“We don’t know where the water is coming from and we need help to find out the source.

“The council or water board must have put pipes in at some point in time, but at the moment it feels like we are just banging our heads against a brick wall.

“It seems like there’s nothing we can do and it’s soul destroying.” Neighbours have suggested the problem may be linked to former air raid shelters that were situated close to the property — but again, nobody can stand up the theory.

The couple are now pleading for any information which could help put an end to their misery — and prevent any further damage to their property.

Janice also believes the stress of the situation is affecting her husband’s psoriasis — a condition which causes his skin to become painful, itchy and inflamed.

She said: “This is causing him a lot of bother.

“Our back garden is destroyed. We’ve had to dig almost the entire thing up, but I’m worried the house will be damaged next.

“We’re trying everything but seem to be on our own. It’s been a total nightmare and we’re now worried sick.” Both Scottish Water and Inverclyde Council have said the problem is out of their hands as the house is privately owned, but said that they offered advice to the Macdiarmids.

A spokesman for Scottish Water said: “Scottish Water investigated the matter and our enquiries confirmed it’s a drainage issue.”