FLOODING is not a rare occurrence in Herefordshire, however one Winforton resident has been left “flabbergasted” by a local lane which has remained under water since last November.

Despite the UK enjoying its hottest July since 1910 Bakers Lane is still impassable - and has been for 10 months.

Balfour Beatty has already highlighted the road in its county-wide drainage review.

However David Wynton, an asset team leader at the county’s road maintenance firm, said that the work had been put off until the water level dropped.

Winforton resident Ian Smith said: “I’m absolutely flabbergasted that in the middle of August we are still been subjected to flooded roads in our area.

“It is now mid-summer and the road remains closed preventing the local community and any tourist visitors access to river walks that Herefordshire prides itself on.”

Bakers Lane is located between Letton and Whitney-on-Wye, and was a once-popular route for fisherman to access the Wye.

However its riverside location also places the road in the middle of a floodplain, making it difficult for water to drain away.

The result, said Mr Smith, is that its ditches are now full of contaminated standing water, causing locals concern over their dogs.

However Balfour Beatty has a plan.

Mr Wynton said: “We are currently carrying out work to remove flood water from the lane, filling the hollows in the lane carriageway and re-profiling the lane.

“This will ensure that rainwater will run to the ditches at the edge of the carriageway, so that the lane will be passable by pedestrians after heavy rainfall.”

A team will also work with one of local landowners to clear a nearby brook once his corn crop is harvested.

Currently the combination of permanent flooding and 22 potholes means that only the more hardy 4x4 vehicles dare tackle the route, listed as the U90627.

The work at Bakers Lane is scheduled to continue ahead of the Autumn rain, and Balfour Beatty will target similar areas of longstanding drainage across the county as part of this years’ drainage programme.