Christmas stress for family with water-filled hole in living room

A living room feature no-one would want

If you think your house is chaos on Christmas Day, spare a thought for the Evans family.

Alison and Keith Evans' home in Trebanog, Rhondda Cynon Taff, has a big open drain in their living room floor because of recurring flooding.

The problem has plagued the couple for almost a year and will see them squeeze into their kitchen to open presents, eat dinner and watch TV.

To add to the stress, Christmas Day is also their daughter's 18th birthday.

Mrs Evans said she was at her "wit's end" over the situation - which has also puzzled Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, who have been unable to find the source of the flooding.

"Family and visitors will all be piled into the one room," she said. "We managed to get the TV and sofa in the kitchen, but now that has had to make way for the Christmas tree."

The problem at the couple's semi-detached house, which they bought 10 years ago, started last Christmas.

They had to rescue their presents from under the tree after water came up through the floor.

Builders were called in and the flooding looked to have gone away - but a couple of months later and they were back to square one.

A drainage pit and pumping equipment as well as a large hole in the floor have been there ever since.

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"When it rains it fills up and we haven't got a living room," said warehouse worker Mrs Evans, whose daughter Hope was born on Christmas Day.

"We get up in the morning or come home from work and we don't know whether the hole is going to be full.

"We're constantly thinking and worrying about it. It's hard to plan anything really."

Outside, a typical semi-detached

If the pump fails, the water has to be bailed out

Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, who have sent surveyors around, said the floods were not linked to its system.

Mrs Evans said she has spoken to her insurers but said they would not pay out until the source of the flooding was found.

In a statement, Legal and General said although it had "every sympathy with Mr and Mrs Evans in what is a very difficult situation" it was a "longstanding water ingress problem which was evident prior to inception of their policy".