A NEWPORT charity boss hit out at Welsh Water after the company washed its hands of responsibility for a flooding problem.

It follows another row between the utility firm and supermarket chain Lidl over a sewer diversion on land it wants to develop in Dumfries Place.

Kaleidoscope, which has premises in nearby Powell's Place, Pill, is also involved in a battle with Welsh Water.

David Pritchard, head of finance and HR, said there was a flood at the old school building last month, caused by a build up of silt in the sewerage line, which resulted serious damage to a newly-refurbished basement.

He called Welsh Water in to investigate and he said two workers subsequently confirmed there was no problem with the pipe on Kaleidoscope's own property.

Mr Pritchard said they told him they had located the cause of the blockage but they would need to return with different equipment to deal with it.

When this didn’t happen, he contacted Welsh Water but was shocked to be told it was nothing to do with the company and it was Kaleidoscope's private drain.

Mr Pritchard was angered not just by the nature of the response but the "rude" attitude of the person he dealt with.

Further attempts to get Welsh Water to deal with the problem have proved fruitless.

"Welsh Water are riding roughshod over everybody," said Mr Pritchard.

A spokesman for Welsh Water said Mr Pritchard contacted the company on August 17 to advise that the property had flooded some weeks before and a large amount of silt in the sewer needed clearing.

"A crew attended the following day and observed that the public sewer was operating as normal. The crew also observed that the property was served by a single private drain, which is the responsibility of the property owner until the point where it connects into a public sewer."