Well done to Chris in Maple Drive who fed up with waiting for the street drains outside his house to be unblocked, decided to take matters into his own hands and get down dirty and clear the drain himself. We shouldn’t need to take such action ourselves, although we can all do our bit by ensuring the grid outside our house is free from debris and by not pouring concrete, oil, paint or other inappropriate items down the drain as Chris found out had happened when he excavated it. I was able to help by taking the contents to the tip (three messy trips for my car boot!).

The County Council has the responsibility for clearing blocked drains, but not enough is being spent on road maintenance to ensure this happens frequently enough. Do report a suspected blocked drain on the Love West Sussex website. I reported the collapsed grid in Dumbrills Close several weeks ago although I was told the timescale for the repair was up to four months!!