RESIDENTS in Arreton had to move out of their homes when muddy water washed off fields and flooded their properties.

One family had to move out for three months over the winter as they were left without a bathroom.

The homeowner said: "It all happened so quickly. It was three months of upheaval and changing our routine, it was a nightmare.

"With sandbags we then coped through Storm Dennis and after that we were able to take the sandbags away, but it has made us a bit nervous."

An Island Roads spokesperson said the flooding was caused by high levels of water, and high volumes of run-off water compromised by silt from fields near the homes.

The spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear about the flooding issues experienced by these residents.

"Flooding can occur for a number of reasons whether caused by an overflow from a river or stream, badly drained land, blocked ditches or simply prolonged heavy rainfall overwhelming the local drainage capacity.

"Island Roads works closely with the Isle of Wight Council and the Environment Agency to tackle surface water flooding on the highway.

"We make sure there is adequate drainage in place within the footprint of the highway area and that this is working effectively by employing regular gully cleansing to ensure surface water can drain from the highway.

“Land adjacent to the highway, which goes beyond the scope of our responsibility, can become waterlogged during extreme weather, or if there are inadequate drainage systems in place.

"This can cause water, silt and other debris to discharge onto the highway or into highway drainage systems, which in turn can cause localised flooding.

"Through our ditch it campaign, we continue to remind landowners it is their responsibility by law, to prevent this from happening and ditches and streams on their property are also kept clear and functioning.

“Island Roads provides a 24-hour call-out service and routinely acts in support of residents during times of extreme weather, providing sandbags and flood defence barriers where there is a risk of flooding.

"The existing highway surface water system was on this occasion no doubt compromised by high volumes of third party run-off water that contained high levels of silt.”