A group of residents in a north Pembrokeshire village affected by flooding in their homes has called in their MP for help.

Stephen Crabb, MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire, met with St Dogmaels residents and Cllr Mike James on Thursday in the village hall to hear more about their concerns.

Residents believe there is a need for relevant agencies to meet with representatives of the community in a multi-agency working group following an increased number of properties being affected by flooding since planning permission was granted by Pembrokeshire County Council for a housing development on land located close by their homes.

Mr Crabb heard that since ground work has started on the site for five new houses, flooding has been a problem even at properties with no previous flooding issues. Local residents believe that the building work has affected the way in which the flood plain works, resulting in water flowing faster into the bottom of the village where homes and gardens are affected.

A spokesman for the Llandudoch Environmental Action Group described the situation as “desperate” and that multi-agency help was needed to find a solution to bring the flooding under control.

Local resident and member of the Action Group, Jake Elster Jones, said: “We seem to be no closer to getting a multi-agency meeting or having community knowledge taken seriously, which is why we got in touch with Stephen Crabb.

“It is best practice and essential for all stakeholders including the affected communities to work together to effectively address flooding problems. Despite our councillor's efforts, the Local Authority, NRW and Dwr Cymru show no signs of agreeing to meet representatives of the local community and engage constructively with our local knowledge and concerns.”

“We have been calling for such a meeting for a number of months and it is only a matter of time before the next heavy rain and flooding.”

Mr Crabb said: “From speaking to the community I can see that this flooding problem is not going to go away. It has become a real issue for those who live here. Help is clearly needed to understand what is happening and how best it can be dealt with.

“The residents showed me photographs of their homes and talked me through the challenges they face in trying to protect their homes from flood water on a regular basis. This is a pressing concern for residents, including many with young families, who have had to deal with a lot of upheaval.”

He added: “The community are understandably frustrated and I will be assisting Councillor Mike James in his efforts by writing to Pembrokeshire County Council, NRW and Dwr Cymru, asking them for assistance in finding a way forward in alleviating the problems that I have heard about today.”

Stephen is pictured with some of the members of the Llandudoch Environmental Action Group.