An Alsager couple who are currently staying in a holiday home having endured a flooding nightmare at their idyllic country cottage for the last 16 months, are at their "wits end".

Christine, 72, and Luther Turner, 67, had four and a half "idyllic" years in their Slate Cottage, on Linley Lane, Alsager.

But since 7th November 2019, a flooding nightmare has "taken all the joy out of their lives".

At 11pm that night, Mr and Mrs Turner were ready to go to bed when heavy rained caused their garden stream to overflow.

It backfilled and came over their courtyard, then through their walls and doors with "a vengeance", then into the ground floor of their cottage, within 10 minutes they were a foot under water.

The water that had come off the adjacent field which had just been fertilised, was "contaminated" and resulted in all the couple's furniture, carpets and curtains being condemned.

Mr and Mrs Turner had to vacate their cottage and were in a hotel for five months whilst the house was restored.

At a cost to their insurers of £234,000, they contacted Cheshire East Highways because Linley Lane was also flooding, which had resulted in some cars being abandoned.

During the couple's ordeal, Linley Lane was closed and caused "major disruption" as a result. The couple told Nub News that they were given an incident number, "promised" an investigation from flood risk officers, but nothing materialised.

The next flooding incident happened on 5th October 2020 where the couple called Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service for assistance.

Firefighters pumped out a lot of the water and the couple's son-in-law, a builder, came with his employees and brought industrial pumps and put all the furniture up on house bricks.

Mr and Mrs Turner described this incident as a "massive clean-up", but on this occasion, they did not have to leave the cottage.

However, this incident prompted the couple to chase the matter up with Cheshire East's flood risk team.

According to Mr and Mrs Turner, whose cottage is "hidden behind gates and a high hedge", Cheshire East told them "they did not realise their property was there".

This triggered an investigation which led to the couple being informed that the cause of the flooding was located on the other side of the highway - a blocked culvert and pipework on adjoining land they thought was owned by Sainsbury's, the former Twyford Bathrooms site, on Lawton Road, which is being developed by Wainhomes.

It remains unclear who owns the adjoining land, but after searching through previous planning applications on the former Twyfords site, Lagan Homes could be the owners.

The couple downloaded a planning application relating to the site from 2013 when permission was granted.

Several of the conditions stressed that culvert/pipework should be maintained and cleaned out, but the couple claimed, "this has never been done".

They had not sustained a problem at their cottage for the first four and a half years, but ever since all the building work and "negligence" they were now "living in fear of a rainstorm".

On 20th January 2021, Mr and Mrs Turner had water pouring onto their drive, then into their house like a "tsunami".

Within 10 minutes they were 3ft under water, all the electrics had failed, and they were in complete darkness which was "terrifying". They had bought all new furniture, which was once again condemned.

Their son-in-law with his business partner, colleagues and daughter worked until 3:15am clearing the water.

They had to stay upstairs with their British Bulldog because the water was so deep outside, they felt like they were in the middle of a "moat".

They had rung the fire services, but they were "inundated" as there was severe flooding across the county.

The fire service rang Mr and Mrs Turner at 2am, but their son-in-law had the flooding "under control" by then.

However, the pensioners are currently staying in holiday accommodation for the "foreseeable future".

The couple believe that all of this could have been "prevented" if Sainsbury's had cleared the culvert and drains as per the planning conditions.

A Cheshire East flood risk officer told the pair that the authority could not "force" Sainsbury's to do the maintenance on their reportedly owned land.

The couple claim the drains are still got 80% blocked, the water from their stream has nowhere to go when it reaches the culvert and pipe work, as a result it then backfills into their property and road, which brings "absolute mayhem" for motorists.

Mr and Mrs Turner said: "No one seems to care even though it must be costing thousands in manpower and the cost of the inconvenience to motorists, closing off the road and insurance claims for flooded vehicles.

"A further risk is the fact that the emergency services have no access to Linley Lane unless they take a long detour, which brings potential risk to saving lives."

The couple claim that Cheshire East Highways/flood risk officers and Sainsbury's had a meeting on 27th January.

But they remain in the dark about that meeting's outcome and despite a flood risk officer telling them "Cheshire East cannot force Sainsbury's to carry out the work", Mr and Mrs Turner know this will continue to happen "every time we have heavy rain".

Cheshire East also reportedly told the retired pair that there was another owner of the land where the culvert was, but when seeking further information, the pair claimed Cheshire East would not "divulge" who the owners were.

Work is currently being done at the couple's home via their insurance company.

Mr and Mrs Turner added: "We will not dare to put anything back into the cottage when it's completed until the blocked drains and culvert are fixed.

"Because if we get a storm, it will happen again and it's terrifying and we cannot face living through another flood.

"We had four and a half idyllic years in our cottage after we retired after working all of our lives - then since 7th November 2019, this flooding has taken all of the joy out of our lives.

"Sainsbury's could resolve this issue and we could have peace of mind and a happy stress-free retirement if they would take responsibility, we need them to take ownership and let us get our beautiful home back.

"We are desperate. This could all be stopped if Sainsbury's cleared the drains."

Sainsbury's told Nub News that the issue was not on their land, but they were getting in touch with the concerned residents to explain what they knew of the situation.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury's said: "We're aware of the situation and although we don't own the land, we're in touch with the local council to offer our support."

Cllr Laura Crane, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for highways and waste, said: "I sympathise with Mr and Mrs Turner. We have been in touch with them on several occasions offering advice and assistance.

"The cause of the problem would appear to be on private land and a management company is responsible for maintenance and ensuring the culvert is free and unobstructed.

"We met with the landowners on 27 January and discussed with their responsibilities and development proposals.

"On the surface, this would appear to be a civil matter between property owners and Mr and Mrs Turner have been informed of how far our responsibilities extend."

Cllr Crane added: "However, we have made public our concerns that landowners with responsibility for watercourses and culverts ensure that they are maintained and do not cause flooding to roads or nearby property.

"Recent flooding events have underlined the importance of this message."

Nub News has contacted Lagan Homes for comment.