A homeowner is questioning why he's paying £3,500 a year in council tax - but can't turn right out of his home because of a 100-metre puddle.

Andy Tebbutt says the puddle - which has remained in place for four winters - is now so deep it is difficult to drive a car through.

The self-employed joiner, 59, is calling on his local council to fix the drainage in order to remove the water.

Mr Tebbutt, who built his home himself in Halling, Kent, in the late 1990s, says the problem is now so bad he even worries about driving his van down there.

The back road into Upper Halling has long been subjected to flooding due to the surrounding landscape of sloping fields and the existing, inadequate drainage system.

Each winter for the past four years the huge puddle on the road has gradually worsened; its brown water regularly swamping cars struggling to wade through it.

The water currently reaches at least up to the bumpers of most cars.

And though Mr Tebbutt has called upon Medway Council to raise the level of the road and install a functioning drainage system, the council have told him they can't afford to do the work.

He explained: "At the moment my house rates are £3,500 a year - and I can't turn right out of my road to use this half of the road because it's too flooded. "

"It's unacceptable for it to get like this... There's no maintenance whatsoever. "

"I've contacted the council and been informed that they can't afford to fix it, so it's not gonna be fixed. "

"Every time it rains it gets worse and worse. We could have a dry period for probably up to two weeks and it will still be flooded."

"I've given up getting in contact with the council about it. I am fed up with it as it’s a nightmare."

"It’s not a pothole; it’s at least 100 metres long and takes up the whole road so you can’t avoid it unless you drive all the way around."

"I have worked hard all my life and I don’t mind paying my tax, but why should I pay my council tax in full if I can’t turn right out of my home?"

"The only way I can drive through it is with my van, but even then I am worried it’s going to cause it damage as I can see steam coming off my tyres."

"My daughter and wife can’t do that though, as they fear for what it’s going to do to their cars."

"It's every winter, as soon as it starts raining the puddle comes. "

"It's been going on for more than four years. It’s getting worse."

Despite complaining to Medway Council to get the road raised and put proper drainage to stop the problem for good, Mr Tebbutt has little hope he will get his desired outcome.

It's understood that potential solutions to the problem are likely to be financially challenging for the local authority at a time when most are struggling to balance their budgets.

Given it isn't too busy a road, it would also be difficult to justify both the investment needed and why it should be prioritised over other, busier roads that regularly flood.