URGENT action has been demanded after flood victims were left fearing for their homes following flash floods on Wednesday.

Residents on Crow Lane, Lilburn Close, Whalley Road and St Paul's Street frantically tried to push the water away from their homes last Wednesday as 20 minutes of rain caused floods.

One couple who only moved back in to their house last month after the Boxing Day floods said they couldn't get their lives back to normal.

They said: "On Wednesday we just stood here waiting to see if it came up high enough and came in to our home again.

"It's awful and really upsetting. Bury Council are not taking any action. When the deluge of water comes the pipes just aren't sufficient enough to deal with it.

"The water just shoots over from one grid to the next to the next and in to our homes.

"We don't want to move but we can't sit here and wait to be flooded again. The drains need to be modernised."

Cllr Ian Bevan said he was inundated with complaints from residents across the town after the rainfall on Wednesday which led to roads flooding.

He said: "One of the problems is that the grids are blocked. We want a meeting with the council leader, the chief executive and people from the environment department.

"After the Boxing Day flood we were promised lots of things by the council and it just hasn't happened.

"If you look down some of the grids they are blocked. It's not acceptable."

Cllr Rob Hodkinson was out with residents on Lilburn Close with snow shovels and brushes trying to divert the water away from their houses.

He said: "Fortunately this time it didn't get in to the houses. The sewers were free flowing but the storm weather drain was blocked.

"The pipes are not designed to take that volume of water, the pipes are not large enough to accommodate it.

"The people are living with the fear and constant threat that it could happen again."

The amount and pressure of the water on Wednesday also caused the surface of the road on Tanners Street to be washed away.

The road was closed whilst workmen worked at the scene to try and repair the damage.