A PORT man is facing the nightmare prospect of having to splash out £30,000 on repairs after flood water wrecked his garden and caused part of it to COLLAPSE.

Robert Henry, who lives in Alderwood Crescent, says water continually flows into the garden of his property, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

As well as having to fork out £10,000 in repairs, Mr Henry says the top of his garden has caved in and could cost him a crippling £19,500 to put right.

The 50-year-old is involved in a lengthy wrangle with Scottish Power, who he blames for causing the floods after they carried out work in the nearby area.

But the energy firm are adamant that the damaging water flow has nothing to do with them, leaving Mr Henry fuming.

He said: “It’s so frustrating and is really making my life a misery.

“The garden used to be beautiful but now I can’t use it at all.

“The repairs have cost about £10,000 — the insurance company will not pay out as the flooding to my garden is a daily occurrence, even when it is dry.” He added: “Other residents have also complained as water flows down Alderwood Road, which is so dangerous when it freezes over.” Robert moved into his home in 1999 and told the Tele there was no problem for 12 years.

He says that cable laying work was then carried out by Scottish Power behind his home in 2012 — and he believes this is the source of the problem, insisting that the project created a ‘new waterway’ for water to flow into his back garden.

Mr Henry has complained to the company but the energy giants carried out an investigation and have firmly denied any responsibility for the flooding.

A spokesman for Scottish Power said: “We believe that Scottish Power has taken all reasonable steps to investigate this matter and instructed an independent hydrologist report to be carried out at the area in question.

“The report did not conclude that the water ingress was a result of our works.

“A copy of the report was sent to both Mr Henry and Savills, who we believe are working on his behalf and that of the Ardgowan Estate.

“Three recommendations were made in the report, one suggesting that a land drain could be installed in the upper level of No.2 Alderwood Crescent and this could be connected to the existing land drain.

“It is for the relevant landowners to decide whether to implement the measures, which fall on their properties.

“We have proposed, as a goodwill gesture, to make a contribution towards the installation of the land drain, but this will need to be taken forward by the landowner.” Mr Henry has also been in touch with Inverclyde Council over the matter, and Municipal Buildings bosses have informed him that Scottish Power did not have to seek permission for the work they carried out.

A council spokesman added: “A notice was served on the residents of Alderwood Crescent because there was a privately owned drain that was choked, allowing surface water to flow onto the road.

“Alderwood Crescent is a private road and it is up to residents to maintain it.

“We provided the Henrys with details of the drainage in the area a year ago and they have not been in contact since.

“Furthermore, Mr Henry told us he had commissioned an independent consultant’s report which had identified the source of the water but he had not been prepared to share this information with us.

“Our investigations, together with an independent report undertaken by Scottish Power, show the issue is due to excess groundwater — which is not the responsibility of the council to deal with — and until it can be shown otherwise the responsibility for taking preventative measures lies with them.”