RESIDENTS in Walshaw Road, Bury, are digging out their wellington boots to fight their way through a slurry of mud outside their backyards.

The back street running behind the homes opposite Andrews Textiles is continually flooded when it is pounded by heavy rain.

The street becomes a no-go area for many elderly neighbours and resident Russell Dandy claims they have had enough.

He said: Every year it is turned into a slurry of mud with rain water running down from Stewart Street. One year it was so bad the water flooded my backyard and seeped through the french windows. Now my motorcycle is now stuck in the yard because I cant get it through the mud.

Mr Dandy has called Bury Council on behalf of his neighbours but was told because the back street was an unadopted road it was not the councils responsibility to maintain it.

Yet Mr Dandy claimed that during a visit from environmental health officers, he was told that the problem would be halved if a drain was installed in Walshaw Road to stop the flow of water.

He said: All we want is a drain installed on Stewart Street and the back street to be surfaced. It may cost a few thousand but the residents, mostly pensioners, cannot afford it.

The residents have now enlisted the help of Bury North MP David Chaytor who has pledged to contact United Utilities and the council to clean out the drains

But despite the residents pleas, the council insisted that the upkeep of the back street was not down to them.

A council spokesman explained: The back street in question is not an adopted highway and is therefore not maintainable at public expense.