A ROW over a broken drain cover has left a Winchester pensioner feeling frustrated. 

David Sanders, a 90-year-old resident, said that the hole outside his house in St Thomas Passage was cracked by a car driving over it and that it was further broken on the night of November 16.

Since then he has been battling to get someone to take responsibility for the drain and fix the damage before someone gets hurt or a vehicle is damaged. 

He said: “What bothers me the most is that it’s a safety hazard. The street is often busy during the day and also at night. In the dark, anyone could easily be hurt. 

“A young girl was walking down with her friends and got her foot stuck in the hole."

Mr Sanders says he has been given the run around by Hampshire County Council's Hampshire Highways and Southern Water. 

Hampshire Chronicle:

Mr Sanders first contacted Hampshire Highways, and its team assessed the issue but insisted they are not responsible for it.

The authority insists Southern Water is responsible for the issue. 

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However, Southern Water has said it has investigated and it is not one of their drains. 

A Southern Water spokesperson said: "We have investigated the address and there are no issues with the sewers and drains listed on our systems.

"We are currently liaising further with the Highways but flooding is a complex issue and one that requires a multiagency response."

Meanwhile, Mr Sanders is left exasperated leaving him no choice but to turn to the Hampshire Chronicle for help highlighting the farce.  

He hopes that making the issue public will prompt someone to step up and take responsibility. 

He said: “The hole needs a new cover to be fitted, that's all, then it would be safe."

However, after being contacted by the Hampshire Chronicle, Hampshire County Council issued this statement on December 9.  

They said: "Hampshire County Council can confirm that it is the cover to a stopcock that is missing and that our Highways team has issued an urgent notice to Southern Water for them to replace it.

"We have been advised by Southern Water that when they attended to replace the cover they discovered that internal sections of the supporting frame were damaged so the new cover couldn’t be properly secured. It is understood they are arranging to fit a new frame and cover at the earliest opportunity."