'My shop has been flooding for nearly 20 years - houses keep getting built and the drains never get cleared'

Balasubramaniam Rasakumaran said his shop, Gills Booze and News on Toll End Road, had been regularly flooded since he took over the shop in 2008, most recently last week after thunderstorms hit the West Midlands.

He said: “We had heavy rain last Thursday, with my shop and my house being flooded as the water was going up to knee-height.

“I tried to put down the shutter to the shop, then went down to the back on my house to lock all the doors and moved my car from the drive, but I came back and found the water was up to my knees.

“I also tried to get people to close the road, because vehicles were passing through and pushing all the water into the shop and my back garden.”

Mr Rasakumaran said he had asked Sandwell Council numerous times over the years to clear the drains on Toll End Road, with the shop located in an area where the road dipped.

He said he was grateful for neighbours’ help but that despite a large number of calls, he didn’t feel like he’d received any help from the council.

He said: “The drains around here are full of leaves and are all blocked, so I’ve had to make calls in a group chat and people have come to help me clear the store, with the work being done by 1am.

“The council have said it’s a heavy rain and they never seem to help me and just tell me to call back later after the rain stops, then I talk to someone about getting sandbags and they tell me I have to do it myself, so they are not helping me.

“As I said, the drains are full of leaves, which are the council’s responsibility, and I’ve been fighting this for nearly 20 years as they are building more houses near here, but not doing anything to fix the drains and stop this happening again.”

Sandwell Council has been approached for comment.