Mourne mountains flood road forces residents on two-mile detour

Residents of a rural road in the Mournes say that continual flooding is forcing them to take a two mile detour every time they leave their homes.

Ballykeel Road sits just above Ballymartin village near the base of Slieve Binnian.

Surrounded by idyllic stone walls, it was previously popular with walkers but farmer Harry Stevenson said that was no longer the case.

"A lot of Ballymartin folk and my own children walk this road," he said.

"But when they see the water they just turn. They know it's here now so they just don't walk this road anymore."

Harry Stevenson says his children would have enjoyed walking on the road

"This past few years it has been slow to drain but this time it's been exceptional. It takes at least six weeks when it's at its peak. It doesn't seem to be abating - the water is just sitting here."

• In pictures: Northern Ireland flooding havoc

According to Stormont's Department for Infrastructure, five roads across Northern Ireland remain closed due to recent flooding.

Ballykeel Road is not one of them.

The Ballykeel Road was a popular spot with walkers

The grass verges at the side are a muddy mess with the six-inch deep footprints of those who have attempted to pass clearly visible.

The road is passable in a 4x4 or tractor but for the small number of cars attempting to make their way through it is a more risky endeavour.

Those we saw on Wednesday morning were reluctant to take that risk, choosing instead to take the long way round.

Harry told BBC News NI: "If we want to go to Kilkeel we have to take almost a two-mile detour.

"We have a farm here and a lot of salesmen are coming to us who don't know the area and they are ringing us asking if it's safe to go through the water.

"We'd tell them if they do it's at their risk but we'd advise them to take a detour around the School Road, which is on the Newcastle side of Ballymartin."

Where was the water going before now?

According to Councillor Glyn Hanna, efforts have previously been made to address the problem.

"On this road there are a dozen to 15 houses," he said.

Councillor Glyn Hanna wants to know where the water used to go in previous years

"It can't be used by the locals living on the road. They are having to do a big detour out around just to get to their houses safely.

Mr Hanna said he had had the Roads Service out at different times but they had been unable to clear it.

"Since the big storm a few weeks ago it is continually flooded.

"They aren't allowed to turn the water into the fields. But as this has only been happening in the last few years we want to know where was the water going before that?"

The Department for Infrastructure said it would investigate to try and identify the cause of the flooding on Ballykeel Road and "take any necessary action to try and prevent this happening again".

"Members of the public can report incidents of flooding to the Flooding Incident Line on 0300 2000 100," it added.