SPRING may have sprung but a persistent flooding problem is putting the dampeners on a Middlewich family's fun.

Neil Hamer, of Coronation Road, says his family's quality of life is suffering because floods are preventing them from using their garden.

Neil and his two daughters Olivia, six, and Lucy, four, have not been able to spend time in the garden for the past four years because the ground is constantly covered in rain water - a problem that has increased over the past 12 months.

The 30-year-old says his daughters can't go outside to play with their toys because most of the time the lawn and path is covered by more than four inches of water.

And Neil says that even when the ground, which is made from boulder clay, does drain, it is still waterlogged.

He said: "Because the garden is sloped, when it rains it totally floods and it never dries out."

"In the summertime the kids can't get to their toys in the garden.

"They have a playhouse that I made for them and a swing that they can't use.

"We used the garden for a couple of weeks last year, but even then it was full of midges because the ground was damp and stagnant. I had to take the girls to the doctor's because they were bitten that much by the midges."

Neil says a representative from Dane Housing visited him with town councillor Peter Hirst two months ago to assess the problem but he has not heard anything from the housing association since.

He added: "They said they would be in touch but I've heard nothing. I'm fed up with it."

Clr Chalky White, who has also tried to help Neil get the problem resolved, said: "Despite several emails to Dane Housing I've not received a single reply.

"It's appalling that this has been allowed to go on."

A spokeswoman for Dane Housing said an inspector's recommendation was for a land drain to be installed, which should be in place within the next few weeks.