THE row over Darwen's drains has surfaced again after buildings were flooded following heavy rainfall on Sunday night.

Firefighters were called out to premises on Cross Street in the town where a basement had flooded at around 5.25am yesterday.

And a cellar in a house in Blackburn Road, Edgworth, needed to be pumped out following the atrocious weather.

Firefighters were called to the property at 7.10am.

Leading Firefighter Thomas Ashworth said: "It was pretty wild and rained particularly hard.

"The drains had been filling up over the last few weeks and last night this was the final straw.

"Firefighters were up to their waist in water in the cellar."

Blackburn with Darwen Council's insistence that drains can cope with heavy rainfall in the area have been disputed.

Earlier this month Coun Paul Browne of Sudell ward said the state of the gullies in the town was horrendous and could not cope with heavy rain.

A resident on Richmond Terrace, Jack Slater said he agreed with Coun Browne and that a drain on his street had been blocked and that a grate on the Green had not been cleared for a long time. He said: "When it rains the streets are full of water."

And Tony Foster of Bury said he was interested to see Coun Paul Browne's concern about the state of Darwen's drains and more particularly the statement given by the Blackburn with Darwen Council spokesman.

He said: "I have recently completed a MA thesis related to the way in which the community of Darwen responded to two fever epidemics in 1861 and 1874.

"Frequent complaints were made about the way in which the drains and sewers could not cope with heavy rainfall.

"The excuses given by the Local Board of Health were identical to a current spokesperson --heavy rainfall and no one has complained to us.

"It would appear that over 100 years of progress the excuses remain the same."

A council spokesman said they wished to re-emphasise their previous comment that they did respond to specific complaints and gullies were cleared annually.