KENT TORIES FAIL ON DRAIN CLEARANCE 

The Labour group on Kent County Council has condemned Kent County Council's Conservative administration as "hypocritical" and "cynical" after claims in the press by local Conservative politicians that recent localised flooding in Kent was the fault of the government. 

Mike Eddy, Labour Shadow Leader of Kent County Council, says: "According to the Tories in Kent, the government needs to renew the drains throughout the county because our drains were built by the Victorians. It is highly hypocritical of the Conservatives to demand that the present government should repair an elderly drainage system when they have failed to maintain what they have got. Throughout Kent roadside gullies and drains are blocked with vegetation and rubbish. Residents see the evidence every day in their streets." 

Ray Parker, Labour Shadow Cabinet Member for the Environment, says: "The Conservatives have failed the people of Kent by not keeping our gullies and drains clear. In my own area of Northfleet, I reported a blocked highways drain in June and now I learn it will not be cleared until October! For the Tories to try to blame the government is a cynical political ploy which doesn't help Kent's residents." 

A County Council Select Committee which reported after the floods in 2000 demonstrated that blocked gullies and drains in the highway were a major factor in localised flooding of roads and roadside houses.