A woman says she is forced to cross a busy dual carriageway because an underpass is “ankle-deep” in water and has accused the county council of “ignoring the problem”.

Maura Mettler, who lives in Coates Way, is furious that the underpass that runs below the A405 in Garston, next to the Harvester, remains flooded despite logging a complaint.

Ms Mettler, who has lived in the area for 46 years, says the middle of the walkway is ankle deep in water and it is impossible to walk through without taking shoes off, unless you want to ruin them.

She says it has been flooded for nearly three weeks and despite complaining exactly one week ago, no work has been done to fix the flooding. She adds that it is not the first time the underpass has flooded.

Watford Observer:

It means Ms Mettler and everyone else who wants to use the underpass, has to cross at street level across the A405, and there are no pedestrian crossing facilities on the Horseshoe Lane side of the junction.

She said: “The path is unusable and we are forced to cross the busy, dangerous road. This is unacceptable for people young and old. It is well over ankle deep in water. I get off the bus to walk back to my road but I can’t use the underpass.

“It is very bad and I feel like they are ignoring the problem. There is a duty to sort this as soon as possible but this happens a lot. Fortunately it’s the holidays right so now so schoolchildren don’t have to use it.”

Watford Observer:

Hertfordshire County Council said the flooding has been caused by a pump that needs replacing.

A spokesman for the county council said: “We are aware of the flooding in this underpass and would like to thank residents for their patience while we address the issue. The pump which would normally keep the underpass free of water needs replacing and this is in the process of being arranged.”