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Residents of Eckington in Worcestershire were so fed up of surface water flooding, they got on their hands and knees to unblock local drains themselves.

Alistair Binney meets Lorraine Whiteside near her home, who ended up clearing out wheelbarrows full of black sludge!

The number of reports for blocked drains in Worcestershire has more than tripled in the past ten years, in Herefordshire it has quadrupled.

Both councils have an online form to report blocked or faulty drains. Worcestershire County Council's website shows how often each drain should be fully cleaned, some are as long as 'every four years', but some in Eckington are coming up to five years without being professionally cleaned.