FAMILIES in Grove want urgent action to sort out drainage problems that have plagued their village for months.

Homeowners in North Drive have called for an inquiry as to why flood water and sewage lapped at their doors again this month.

They are also worried because a vital water pump will not be upgraded.

A Thames Water spokesman said flooding was caused by a pumping station near the Bay Tree pub that could not cope with the large volume of water.

However, the firm said it had no plans to put in a more powerful pump because it was only upgraded six weeks ago. Residents said the village was not ready to cope with the new airfield development, which could make the problems even worse, as there were more than 2,500 homes planned.

Mother-of-two Kate Laybourne, 43, of North Drive, whose home flooded in July last year, said someone needed to take responsibility.

She said: "This issue is serious, but it is solvable. I want action. I do not want to worry about my children catching something horrible when playing in the garden.

"For myself, I want to sleep through a rainstorm and not leap to the window and check the water level around the house.

"They need to get this right before they build any more houses."

Fire crews from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue took six hours to pump 360,000 litres of water from garages and gardens in North Drive on Sunday, March 16, saving local homes from being flooded.

Other roads, including Vale Avenue and Cane Lane, were also affected.

Carol Haines, 57, also of North Drive said: "The pumping station has to be able to take the capacity when the new houses in Grove are built. I was just getting over the fear of being flooded when this happened. Now I will always have a constant fear of flooding."

Thames Water said the pumping station, near the Bay Tree pub, could not cope with the large volume of water but could not say if there were plans to expand the station.

A spokesman said: "We went there straight away to make sure there were no blockages. The incident will be logged."

Dennis Yates, 52, said: "The problem we have is that no one will take responsibility and sort things out. Flooding has not happened for years. Now it has happened twice in eight months, so something has changed."

County councillor for Grove and Wantage, Zoe Patrick, is pressing for urgent action to avoid future flooding.

Gordon Hunt, drainage engineer for Oxfordshire County Council, said: "The recent flooding in North Drive was due to the foul sewer backing up from Oxford Lane into North Drive.

"Thames Water, which owns this sewer, is investigating to find a solution."

Gavin Walton, a spokesman for the Vale of White Horse District Council, said the council had a limited statutory role in flood prevention, but he said it continued to work with other agencies in trying to tackle the problem.