A WATER firm used police protection when fixing a leak which had flooded a grandmother’s home in Dartford.

Thames Water arranged for a police officer to escort two engineers to Wendy Crisford’s flat in Norfolk Close to ensure the "safety" of its employees.

The nursery teacher had been left furious following a three-day ordeal which started on September 30.

She told News Shopper: "If they’d done their job properly in the first place it could have quickly been resolved we wouldn’t have the water leaking from first thing Monday morning to Wednesday afternoon.

"The smell is so bad, it’s a bit like cat pee, it’s horrible.

"You can smell it as soon as you walk through the main door."

The leak was coming from the hallway and sent water streaming into the 45-year-old’s basement flat she shares with her partner Thomas White and grandson George Palmer, six, ruining the carpet and table.

An engineer from Thames Water came round late on Monday evening before returning the following day and "storming out" because Miss Crisford became increasingly fed up with the situation.

She added: "I said ‘listen, I’ve been dealing with this since 8am on Monday and I’ve lost a day’s pay from work and it will cost me god knows how much money to repair. I’m nearly at breaking point.’ "He said I was being abusive."

Thames Water sent out two engineers with a police officer on October 2 to finally resolve the problem.

She said: "They were very nice and apologised for the way we had been treated.

"The police officer came to make sure everything was OK and then left.

"I am sure they would be irate having to wait for three days when your flat’s covered in water."

A Thames Water spokesman said: "While we're sorry for the delay in fixing this leak, we take the safety of our employees extremely seriously and this decision to involve the police was fully justified."