Three homes in Clayhall were severely flooded over the weekend from rainwater that poured in from the woods behind the property and because of an overgrown ditch.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) had to pump water out for five hours in the three adjoining properties in The Glade, on Saturday.

Ilford Recorder: Fire crews from Ilford and Hainault fire stations were at the scene to help with the flood.Fire crews from Ilford and Hainault fire stations were at the scene to help with the flood. (Image: Sue Hurry)

Resident Sue Hurry, who suffered the worst of the damage, first noticed her garage and garden were flooded on Friday morning.

She called the council which cleared out an overgrown ditch behind her property which seemed to temporarily solve the problem.

Ilford Recorder: Abdul Waheed had about six inches of water in his garden.Abdul Waheed had about six inches of water in his garden. (Image: Abdul Waheed)

However, on Saturday at around 8am, about two and a half feet of water filled into her garden and home, along with the two houses in the adjoining property.

Sue had to put sandbags along the back of her fence behind the woods and along the entrance to her home to prevent as much of the water from coming in as possible.

Ilford Recorder: It took the London Fire Brigade five hours to pump the water away from the property.It took the London Fire Brigade five hours to pump the water away from the property. (Image: Sue Hurry)

She told the Recorder: "The water was just pouring in from the woods. We had to run our pump all day along with the one the fire brigade ran just to get rid of all the water."

Fullwell Councillor Sadiq Kothia attended on Saturday with a liaison officer (LALO) and the council's head of civil engineering to inspect the damage, alongside Thames Water and the LFB.

Ilford Recorder: The damage from the flooding in The Glade.The damage from the flooding in The Glade. (Image: Sue Hurry)

Sue added: "Cllr Kothia has been very good and helpful. Now we are just sitting here waiting and with rain forecast tonight I don't know what's going to happen."

Her neighbour Abdul Waheed was affected as well with about six inches of water in his garden.

He said: "I am worried about what will happen in the future. From 7am until 10pm, I was very depressed thinking about this."

Ilford Recorder: There was about two and a half feet of water in one home.There was about two and a half feet of water in one home. (Image: Sue Hurry)

A Thames Water spokesman said: "Our engineers inspected the sewer network and the pipes were coping well with the heavy rain.

"It appears the flooding was caused by the sheer amount of water pouring off the fields at the back of the properties. An overgrown ditch that belongs to a third party also contributed to the problem."

Ilford Recorder: The flooding from Friday before the ditch was first cleared.The flooding from Friday before the ditch was first cleared. (Image: Sue Hurry)

Cllr Kothia said: "The residents affected showed incredible resilience and strength during such a stressful and difficult time and the firefighters who joined us on site to help pump out the water did a fantastic job."

A council spokesperson said: “The water started to recede late Saturday afternoon and began to run onto the road into the drains, posing no further threat to properties.

“The source of flooding still is unclear, although we believe it is probably water from the surrounding woodland area. Our parks department are closely monitoring the situation and will revisit the site this week to determine the cause of the flooding.”