Fire crews called to flash flooding in Wallington yesterday believe blocked drains are to blame for the two-metre high water levels.

Firefighters rescued drivers from cars in dramatic scenes in Manor Road, Wallington as flood waters ran “like a river down the street”.

Wallington fire station manager John Butten said it is not the first time the road under the railway bridge has flooded.

He said: “It’s quite common for it to flood exactly where it did, a couple of years ago the locals were there with small boats playing in it.

“The problem is the drains get blocked with debris and that’s why that happened.

“When the local authority water people turned up they just lifted the drain covers up and it started to flow down.

“It was like a river running down the street.”

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He added: “One of the firefighters said there is a depth gauge under the bridge, the fact that it is there speaks volumes.

“When crews arrived there were three cars in the water, two guys had got out of their car but there was still someone in his car so they [crews] reacted really quickly and just got into the flooded water.

“They needed to get in there really quickly because they were scared he was going to be trapped in the car because the water was going above the car.”

Crews were also called to seven other incidents of flooding in homes, including a flat in Arlington Drive, Carshalton where the flood waters were “waist-deep”.

Mr Butten said: “While the crews from Wallington were dealing with the floods in Manor Road there were other shouts going on to deal with flooding in people’s homes.

“The guys on watch last night at 9pm went out to someone who had been out all day, came home and her basement flat was flooded. The water was at waist height level.”