IT was the Blay family who raised the alarm.

They were unlucky enough to live across the road from the pipe which burst yesterday morning.

Father-of-four Keiron Blay, 47 said: “We were the first house to be hit by the flood.

“We have a five-day old baby and we were trying to catch up on some sleep when my children woke us up telling us the living room was full of water.

“At first I panicked because we’ve got a dog and I thought she had drowned but when I went downstairs she was floating on the furniture.”

Later in the morning Mr Blay’s parents-in-law, Mary and Bob Bakewell, came to take their grandchildren to their home in Kennington.

Their granddaughter, eight-year-old Lily, said: “We were stuck upstairs for two hours.

“At first I was slightly scared but when my mum told me what had happened I was alright.”

Her mother, Polly, left, said: “We are still in the process of clearing up. We don’t know where we are going to stay yet.”