An ongoing fight over who is responsible for flooded gardens has left desperate neighbours feeling abandoned.

L&Q Housing appeared to have been served with a three week notice to stop “wasting water” and fix the drainage issue which has flooded gardens of houses on Vernon Crescent, Cat Hill.

However, L&Q say they were never sent a warning, and that an email to a resident claiming they had been was sent "in error" - leaving confusion over who is responsible and Vernon Crescent homeowners without a solution to the mess.

The problems began after woodland was destroyed on the former Middlesex University campus nearby, as part of an L&Q development to build 200 homes on the site.

Kim Coleman, who has lived in Cat Hill for 60 years, said: “L&Q said they were being good neighbours and advised us to go to Affinity, our water company, as it was their responsibility.

“Now we have got an email from Affinity saying it is L&Q’s problem, and they have three weeks to sort it. During all this people’s gardens are still being flooded, it is a race against time.

“People have to deal with this every day of their lives, it’s a nightmare. It is exactly what we expect – ever since the planning application in 2014 there have been problems and people passing the buck.

“We warned the planning commission that allowing so many trees to be cut down would lead to flooding, but no-one took any notice. There are gardens with a foot of water in them.

“We just feel like nobody cares.”

In their email to Ms Coleman, Affinity Water said: “We have investigated further into the issue and found that a technician attended the site to raise a waste notice to the developers.

“This means that the developers are under a three week timescale to get the drainage issue repaired as they are wasting water.

“I understand that this is causing an issue to your property and apologise that we cannot help any further as this is not the responsibility of Affinity Water.”

However when contacted by this newspaper, L&Q said: "An Affinity Water technician has visited the site and confirmed that there is not an issue with clean water. We have since clarified with them that a waste water notice has not been issued, though an earlier communication did indicate, in error, that one would be served.”