A DISGRUNTLED pensioner says his life is being made a misery by flood water which has caused hundreds of pounds of damage to his property.

Hugh Lynch, pictured, says he’s at his wits end as water ‘cascades’ down a hill behind his home and wrecks his garden and pathways.

These pictures show the latest damage caused to his front path at his home in Kip Avenue, Inverkip, after bad weather last month.

The 82-year-old, who has stayed at the property for over 40 years, told the Telegraph that the problem suddenly arose about five or six years ago.

He says he has continually complained about the situation over the past few years, but nothing is being done about it.

Hugh said: “The water comes down the hill, crosses the railway line and pours into my garden.

“The problem is that because I don’t know where the source of the problem my insurance company won’t pay out. It’s costing me money to repair the damage and nobody seems willing to help.” Equally as infuriated with the situation is Hugh’s son Ken who is taking up the issue on his father’s behalf.

He said: “My dad moved into the house in 1970 and until recent times he has never had a problem, so something has changed.

“He has had to carry out major repairs to his path three times recently and I don’t think that’s right.

“This problem is not isolated to Kip Avenue as the flooding is also affecting properties in Beattock Place and Station Road.” To add to their woes, there is now a wrangle over where the water is coming from and who is to blame, with Inverclyde Council, Network Rail and Stewart Milne Homes all denying responsibility.

Ken added: “The latest flood was on 28 October and I contacted the council about it that day but I never heard anything back for a couple of days so I contacted them again and eventually they sent someone out days after the flood but by that time I had to fix the path as it was an accident waiting to happen.

“The council don’t want to know. I also contacted Network Rail about the issue as the water floods onto the track but they don’t care either.” But the council said today: “Unfortunately we are not responsible for the maintenance of assets which we do not own although we do go to considerable lengths in situations like this by rapidly investigating flooding and highlighting the responsibility to landowners.

“We have contacted the landowner and asked for blocked culverts to be cleared as a matter of urgency.” Meanwhile, a spokesman from Network Rail also denied responsibility.

He said: “The flooding is being caused by water and debris running off the land beyond the railway and blocking drainage beneath the line.

“The issue has been raised with the council and the landowner in question to seek a long-term solution. The railway drainage is regularly inspected and cleared to try to minimise flooding at the location.” The spokesman added: “We have very clear processes in place for managing severe weather.

“During periods of heavy rain known flood sites are regularly checked by our staff and train services are brought to a halt if flood waters reach rail-height, or damage track beds.” Bosses at Stewart Milne Homes who have built a housing development nearby, also denied that the flooding is caused by their works.

A spokeswoman said: “We are sorry to hear of Mr Lynch’s flooding issues.

“We’ve conducted a thorough investigation and the flooding is not occurring from our development. All surface water from our site is contained, treated and piped off site.” After listening to both Hugh and Ken’s concerns, Inverclyde MP Iain McKenzie is now on the case.

Mr McKenzie told the Tele: “I have been down to Mr Lynch’s home to see first hand the damage caused by the recent flooding and I’m asking various agencies to work together to solve this flooding problem.

“This also has implications for the Inverkip train line as well.

“Letters have been sent and I’m hopeful of a favourable response so that everyone works together and discusses how we can solve this problem.”