NEIGHBOURS in a run-down estate have criticised “incompetent” council staff who needed directions to get to a burst water pipe.

Michelle Edwards, of Marlowe Road, called Waltham Forest Council when the main started spewing water on inside the block of flats - but says she was met with "ignorance".

The 42-year-old, who has lived on the estate since 1995, left her home to go to the post office when she spotted the flood in late September.

She said: "I was heading towards the walkway I just heard this massive flush of water coming down.

“The water was gushing out and the floor was flooded, if you can imagine a burst pipe.

“When I called the council, the first person I got through to, said it wasn’t the council’s duty and told us to contact Thames Water.

“The second person did not know where Marlowe Road Estate is and asked me for directions.

“It is not my job, as a resident, to give out directions – they should use google or ask a colleague.

“I am unsurprised by their response because the council are plagued by incompetent staff.”

Ms Edwards also criticised the authority for their failure to deal with the cockroaches and mice which plague the estate.

Below: rat traps on the estate

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She said: “The council have allowed the estate to run into rack and ruin and it is filthy.

“We are all scared on the estate. There are cockroaches and mice and the council are not concerned about the residents.”

Work to regenerate the estate was due to start in July, but has been pushed back to autumn due to "Brexit uncertainty".

Developer Countryside is spending £130m rebuilding it, where around 200 properties will be demolished and replaced with more than 430 new homes.

And 150 of the new properties will be council-owned, compared to the current figure of 166.

Three-bedroom homes on the estate will cost around £660,000, and only a third will be social housing.

But this means many have had to be moved out of the homes they have lived in for a number of years, sparking anger.

Ms Edwards further criticised the authority for letting the project run late.

A spokesman for the council said: “We understand that a resident on the Marlowe Road estate experienced difficulties with reporting a repair issue to us last Friday, and we apologise that they were not able to get through to the right department.

“We were able to report the issue on their behalf, and the resident was advised of the correct telephone number and email address for the Waltham Forest Housing repairs line.

“An operative visited the property on the same day and the issue was fully resolved on the following Monday (26 September).

“The resident was also contacted to make them aware that the leak has been fixed.

“Where residents on the estate have reported pest control issues we have been responding to these individually, and have carried out surveys which confirm there is no evidence of widespread issues.”