A businessman has slammed a utility company after his lawnmowers were damaged for the second time in four years because of flooding.

George Rawlinson, 67, who owns A & A Sims in Old Uxbridge Road, near Maple Cross, says Thames Water have been “unapologetic once again" after water and raw sewage spilled down the road and onto his site.

Watford Observer:

In 2014, Mr Rawlinson says he suffered around £2,000 of damage in 2014 and history repeated itself last weekend after a power cut to a pumping station caused flooding.

Pictures taken by Mr Rawlinson’s son James, show the road flooded and water has flowed towards the lawnmowers. The road was closed and drivers were forced to turn around.

Watford Observer:

Old Uxbridge Road was flooded and drivers were forced to turn around

George Rawlinson, who has had his garden machinery business for 30 years, said: “I understand this may have been an accident but it is the second time now. It has damaged our machinery and our engines. In 2014, we never received an apology and was told it wasn’t Thames Water’s fault. And when I called again, it was a similar story.

“What I’m most annoyed about is they have caused a problem but have taken no responsibility for it. They should be held responsible. I called the police when it happened but they said it wasn’t an emergency and the fire service didn’t want to come either because they didn’t want raw sewage going through the machinery.”

Watford Observer:

Thames Water confirmed a power cut to a pumping station in West Hyde on Sunday caused flooding in the area.

A spokeswoman for the company said: “We responded as quickly as possible to minimise the impact to nearby properties and the environment of the flooding, which was caused by a loss of power to one of our pumping stations during the heavy rain.

“We’re sorry to any of our customers who were affected, and would like to thank the residents in the area for their patience during the clean-up operation, which was completed the next day.”

Any compensation claims will be assessed and handled on a case-by-case basis, Thames Water added.