WATER pumps, which are part of a £6million drainage system designed to keep Canvey free from flooding, are being foiled by rubbish and grass cuttings.

The Environment Agency is urging residents to be careful about where they dump trash after five of the pumps broke down after heavy rain.

Engineers had to spend a morning clearing blocked grills to get the pumps working again.

But the temporary breakdown left Brian Staines’s garden, in San Remo Road, flooded, with water just inches away from entering his house.

Mr Staines, 72, said: “The water was up to the damp course.

“This isn’t a new problem. It’s been happening since the Nineties. We have got used to it and we just get our pump out and start pumping.

“I thought when the Environment Agency put in its new pumping stations, that would be the end of the story. £6million is a lot of money to spend.

“But, despite the technology, it still relies on a man with a rake going down there to clear the grills and keep the water away.

“I’m getting very annoyed.”

Mr Staines’s house is one of the lowest lying in the street, meaning he suffers more than many of his neighbours.

In 2007, £6million was spent on 14 giant pumps on Canvey, which are meant to prevent flooding by pumping water from the drains into the neighbouring dykes.

Environment Agency spokeswoman Rita Penman said the prolonged period of dry weather and low water levels had led to a build-up of debris on the grills above the pumps.

When the rain came, the water could not be pumped away because of the blockage. She added: “We would appeal to people to not throw rubbish into water courses.

“Two of the pumps cut out and then three others did, as they became overloaded. We got them started again. They weren’t out for a long period of time.

“It is state-of-the-art equipment, but if it gets blocked by rubbish, the pumps cannot do their jobs properly.”