A STANMORE family plagued by drainage problems at their council house say they have little faith in the city council's pledge to fix them.

Heavy rain last weekend left Andy Batchelor's front garden awash with rubbish, and on Monday, the 42-year-old claimed his 18-month-old daughter Hollie was just inches away from a hypodermic needle.

"I hope it will be sorted but I don't think it will be," Mr Batchelor said.

After what he says has been a seven-year battle with the city council and Southern Water over the condition of the drains in the garden -- which flood after heavy rain -- Mr Batchelor said Monday was "the final straw".

Mr Batchelor, and other residents in Waynflete Place, claimed no-one wanted to take responsibility for the problem.

"With kids, I don't want that in the garden. Next thing, you'll have a child with hepatitis or Aids."

His partner, Vee Bowen, said: "This has been going on for donkey's years and they still won't sort it out."

The family's garden has two sets of drains, a cover to the main sewer, which is the responsibility of Southern Water, and the other, which deals with surface water, is owned by Winchester City Council.

Alan Porter, of Southern Water, who has visited Waynflete Place on numerous occasions, said he was fed-up with the city council's refusal to acknowledge there was a problem with one of its drains.

Mr Porter said Southern Water had done a full TV survey of the drains last year, establishing that there was no problem with its own system.

Patrick Aust, one of the council's engineers, visited the scene on Monday.

He said: "There has been a history of flooding here, but we will dig out the drain and investigate where everything goes," he said.