A pensioner too afraid to sleep at night for fear of her home being flooded told of her frustration at Thames Wat- er's three-year delay in fixing a broken drain.

Iris Lancaster's home has flooded three times in the past year because of a nearby cracked culvert.

She was told the problem would not be fixed until October at the earliest - despite the company identifying the problem nearly three years ago.

Thames Water said the repair work would be a "significant undertaking" - but promised to find a solution "as soon as possible".

The company has just announced record profits of £590m - the highest ever by a British water supplier - up £151m on the year before.

Mrs Lancaster, 82, of Kennington Road, Kennington, again reinforced her home with sandbags on Tuesday.

Floodwater gushed into her garden and around the house "like a hurricane" before seeping into her conservatory, while her daughter, who lives next door, was also hit. It was the third time for them both since July.

Mrs Lancaster said: "It's frustrating because you are helpless. You can't fight water - it just comes all of a sudden.

"It makes me nervous to even go to bed in the night because if I hear rain on my conservatory roof I jump out of bed. It makes you more or less a prisoner in your own home when it rains hard.

"We want the culvert repaired so the water runs into the stream, but nothing ever seems to be done.

"We have been asking to get something done for such a long time. I suppose these things are very costly."

Regarding the company's profits, she added: "It's ridiculous. I wouldn't mind just a few pounds out of that £590m."

Todaay, Thames Water apologised and blamed the delay on the scale of the repair work, which involves demolishing a garage.

Spokesman Becky Johnson said: "We are very apologetic and we will find a solution as soon as possible."

She added the firm's planning team was looking at what work might be needed, and said work should start in October.

Thames Water chief executive David Owens defended the company's profits, saying they reflected 'efficiency savings' and added investment over the past 12 months had risen 28 per cent.

He said: "We are not resting on our laurels. We have a massive programme of investment ahead and know we must do more to improve the service we provide to our customers."