A COUPLE are devastated after a botched valve change by Thames Water left their cottage flooded a day before their first baby was due to be born.

Mark Howe and his wife Canan were woken at 7am yesterday to find that the entire ground floor of their cottage in Fosse Way was underwater.

Thames Water workmen, who had kept them awake during the night with flashing lights, were adjusting a valve outside the property between Cirencester and Northleach when a pipe burst.

This left the inside of their cottage flooded with two inches of water. Canan, 39, was due to attend Gloucestershire Royal Hospital today to induce her baby and the couple fear they won’t be able to return home afterwards.

Mark, 36, said: “When I saw the damage I nearly burst into tears, this couldn’t have come at a worse time.

“What worries me is where my baby will go once it’s born. The place isn’t safe and we don’t know if the water is contaminated.

“When the baby’s born, how will it live like this?”

Among the damaged items was a baby’s carry cot, as well as a handmade rug, thought to be worth £4,500, and every pair of Canan’s shoes.

The cottage, which stands directly next to the Hare and Hounds pub, still had no water or electricity at the time of going to press.

The Arkell’s pub, which has been run by Mark’s mother and father-in-law, Angela and Jerry Howe, for 14 years, was not sure when it would be able to open.

Angela said: “It’s scary bringing a baby back to a place like this. We may not even be able to replace the baby’s things before it arrives.”

At the time of going to press, Thames Water had not yet supplied any information on whether the new family would be given an alternative place to live.

They did, however, say it had been “escalated to their customer care team”.

A spokesman for Thames Water said: “We’re very sorry about the flooding caused by our pipe. Flood damage to homes is always an awful experience, however it must be even more distressing at such a special time for this family.

"Our customer care team will do everything they can to put this right.”

Mark said there has been repeated problems with the water supply around his cottage, and that it was often shut off for hours at a time.