A Huntingdonshire family whose home was "completely destroyed" by flood water has criticised Anglian Water for refusing to cover the cost of repairs. 

Paul and Lindsay Wootton's home in Brampton was flooded in January this year after a nearby pump house stopped working, resulting in a build up of sewage. 

The pair reported the fault to the water company on January 5 after days of heavy rain had caused surface water to accumulate nearby. 

They were later informed engineers were "too busy" to attend. 

In a letter seen by The Hunts Post, Anglian Water admitted that the flooding of the property had been caused by a "pump house failure" and recent "severe weather". 

The letter also acknowledged that a tanker was not dispatched to the pump house until two days after the fault was reported and despite efforts to remove flood water, it did not "have the desired effect". 

Mrs Wootton claims that Anglian Water's decision to delay dispatching a tanker contributed to the severity of the property's damage. 

She told The Hunts Post: "When a tanker was first dispatched, the engineer didn't have the correct keys to open the manhole cover, so sewage and flood water continued to accumulate, putting further pressure on the house. 

"It wasn't until January 8 that a tanker managed to remove surface flood water and the true extent of the damage was revealed. Bits of skirting board had fallen off and the water had broken through our damp course. 

"The whole of the downstairs was wrecked and had to be completely ripped out. The water had sat outside the property for four days, and I'm confident that had it been removed sooner, the house would have escaped relatively undamaged." 

The scale of the flooding rendered the property "uninhabitable" and the family of four were forced to move into temporary accommodation for six months. 

Mrs Wootton is battling Anglian Water to foot the family's staggering £29,000 repair bill after the company refused to cover the family's costs. 

A spokesperson for the company said flooding had caused the pumping station to fail and confirmed it had “waived" the family's sewage charged for "12 months".

The mother of two claims that Anglian Water has since denied its sewer pump house failed "at all", despite initially "accepting responsibility". 

She said: "As a family, we're good at putting things into perspective, but being forced out of our own home has had a huge impact on us, especially our two children. 

"We didn't see our friends for nearly six months because of how far away we had to move and its just been the most draining experience. 

"It's been an ongoing battle with them to accept responsibility, despite them admitting that they were in the wrong as early as February. 

Mrs Wootton added: "We've got a legitimate claim against them and £29,000 is a huge sum of money, which is going to massively affect our insurance premiums in the future.

"We've potentially got a two year battle ahead of us, but I'm determined to ensure that Anglian Water does not get away from this without accepting responsibility."

A spokesperson for Anglian Water said: "The properties in Brampton on the Henshaw Estate are located downstream from the Great Ouse. The flooding has been caused by drainage ditches on the estate overtopping from river water, into private surface water drainage on the estate – both owned and maintained by Amber Management.  

“This is then getting into our sewers and being pumped away as quickly as possible by our pumping station. Our network is operating as it should, but essentially, a lot of surface and river water that can’t get away quickly enough – a bit like a plug hole in a bath. 

“The same issue occurred last January, and flooded our pumping station too, which is what caused the pumps to stop, rather than a problem with our equipment itself. 

"The issues at Brampton will require a collaborative approach from all owners to look for a solution and we're currently working with local organisations to work out the next stages.”