WILLIAM and Margaret Rankin said yesterday’s flooding was the worst it had ever been for them.

The couple, who have lived in their home in Chatham Road, off Abingdon Road, Oxford, for 41 years, awoke in the morning to discover their back garden was completely submerged. And they say they have had problems with their drains. Mrs Rankin, 63, told the Oxford Mail: “This is the worst it has ever been for us. If we run the tap, the water just flows straight into the garden because the drains are all backed up.

“It was okay on Saturday night and then we woke up the next morning and it was all just there.”

Mr Rankin, pictured, said they were disappointed at the lack of information given by the authorities. The 64-year-old said: “If they told us how much was going to be let through then you could appreciate it.”

A spokeswoman for Oxford City Council, said: “Our main concern is to try to prevent residential property from flooding and that is why officers have been in West Oxford today talking to residents. “We informed residents that the environment agency was concerned that water levels would continue to rise over the next 24 hours.”