FEARS of flooding came rushing back to Feniton residents after a 10-minute downpour left water lapping inches away from their doors.

Angry residents in the Salisbury Avenue area, many of whom have only just returned home after being flooded out last year, claim little has been done to prevent a repeat.

And they are calling on East Devon District Council and Devon County Council to take action.

Alan Mitchell, 72, Salisbury Avenue, is still unable to live in his home following last October’s floods.

He said: “My house and my two neighbours were hit the worst last year as our houses are slightly lower down than others.

“I had more than four feet of water in my house and had to swim through sewage water to get out. My car was destroyed and I had to stay in a hotel for two months and have been staying in a rented house ever since. It’s cost my insurance company over £100,000.

“The council obviously hasn’t done anything about it. On Monday, 10 minutes of rain left the road flooded again. Every time a car drove past it sent a wave down my drive.

“East Devon District Council   told me to phone my local parish council for sandbags so I rang Devon County Council, which was great and sent someone out later that day.  The  drains  are  completely inadequate.”

He added: “It’s going to happen again if the council doesn’t do something.

“They’ve have had eight months to do something but they haven’t done anything to alleviate the problem.”

Neighbours Tracey Ozturk, 34, and her mum, Jenny Baker, 60,    have had to spend thousands on defending their home against floods themselves — including building a brick wall around their garden.

Tracey said: “After Monday’s downpour, the path outside my house was like a river.  After 10 minutes the water had risen above two steps and was inches away from my front door.”

Gary Broome, 43, of Wells Avenue, said: “Last month Devon County Council came out to test the soakaways on the main road, but they didn’t test any in this area that gets  flooded.”

Mark Purdey, 44,  said: “Something’s happened with the drains as the gardens used to get flooded but never used to take so long to drain. I still haven’t moved back since last time and I have four small children. It’s been a nightmare.”

A spokesperson for EDDC said: “Following the particularly  damaging floods in October 2008, the Council set up the Ottery St  Mary Flood Relief Fund. We distributed over £21,000 to the 32 applicants who applied for  support.

“This was made up from over £10,000 in donations, which  were then matched by over £10,000 from East Devon District  Council.

“We have worked with Devon County Council, the Devon and  Somerset Fire and Rescue Service and the Environment Agency  to set up a flood recovery group which has now issued two  newsletters to residents in affected areas, advising them of steps  they can take to help alleviate flooding and to keep them informed  of what has been happening to reduce the risk of flooding in the  future.”

No one from Devon County Council was available to comment.

Adrian Rushworth, regional improvements manager at the  Environment Agency said: “We have been working with East Devon District Council and  Devon County Council as part of the East Devon Flood Recovery  Group since the floods   last October.

“In Feniton, the majority of flooding is due to surface water  run-off, which is not the responsibility of the Environment  Agency.

 “But if residents have any specific concerns for the Environment Agency, they are welcome to come to the flood fair  on Saturday,  July 18,  where they will be able to get  advice on how to protect  their homes from flooding.

The fair  is  at  King’s School, Ottery St Mary, between 11am  and 4pm.