Blocked drain 'making floods worse'

Mr Ali said water was just a few centimetres away from flooding his shop

A shopkeeper fears his business faces flooding "over and over again" due to a blocked drain.

Chester Road in Sunderland was closed on Tuesday due to a burst water main at Western Hill junction.

Bakhtiar Ali, who owns Sultan Halal Superstore, said his shop had "luckily" not been flooded, but had been deluged four years ago when a different pipe burst.

Northumbrian Water said it had replaced the pipe and the road would soon be reopened. Sunderland City Council said the gully outside the shop was cleared in December 2023.

Mr Ali said £3,000 worth of shop stock was ruined during flooding four years ago.

"Now I don't put many things in the shop because if I put a lot on the floor, it will get wet [and] I will have to dump it," he said.

Water flooded the road after the water main burst on Tuesday night

He said a blocked drain outside his shop "made it worse" any time there was flooding.

"I think it is going to happen over and over again," he said.

Sunderland City Council said the gully was last inspected in September 2021 and found to have "no silt" and so "no works were required".

However, the authority said following reports of flooding last December, the gully was cleared.

"No other reports have been received," it added.

Chester Road was closed on Tuesday