Engineers from Severn Trent Water are hunting for a piece of manhole cover blamed for floods in a dozen homes in Steam Mills.

It is thought the cover shattered when a car ran over it some months ago but the pieces weren't recovered and ended up blocking a drain.

This left fire crews to fight a losing battle with rising water levels on Monday morning which caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to people's homes.

The alarm was raised when water started coming under front doors, through manhole covers and even a household toilet following heavy rain in the previous 24 hours. Residents, who are facing a massive clean-up operation as well as protracted insurance claims, are now demanding answers from Severn Trent.

Carol Marsh was left surveying her daughter Aisia's wrecked toys and Wendy house when the cottage she has lived in for 22 years with husband Clinton flooded for the first time.

"When my son Callum got up for work at around 6.30am and started shouting that we had been flooded, I thought it was a burst pipe," she said.

"But when we came down the water was everywhere and the sewerage was coming up through the drains. I've been told it's the main sewerage line that's at fault.

"The water has gone right through. We have tried to put things on bricks but I think we are going to have to rip everything out and start all over again."

George Mann said he first noticed the rising water outside his house at 5.30am.

"I called 999 but I was told they couldn't do anything as the house wasn't flooded at that time," he said.

"I was phoning different people all morning. The fire crews were great when they got here but I wish they had been sent in sooner."

Alixandra Jones is livid because she fears it will stop her selling her home that wasn't even flooded.

"The water did not get in but somebody cancelled a viewing because it made it look as if we were in a flood zone," she said.

"I'm furious with Severn Trent. They were last to arrive on the day and it stands to reason that if you pull half a manhole cover out the other half is down there somewhere."

Firefighters managed to stop a rising brook flooding the opposite side of the road.

Cinderford Town councillor Tim Holder said the clerk had contacted the district council offices last week after being approached by a resident.

"He was concerned that despite being promised by the district council that the brook would be cleared on an annual basis, it hadn't happened this year," he said.

"As he pointed out, there have been a lot of weeds growing this year and having guaranteed to clean it, they should have done so."

Flooding also threatened to cause problems at the Dean Heritage Centre after water got into Gallery 2 and the Mill Pond overflowed on Monday.

Water went gushing towards an area occupied by wood sculptor Clayton Ryder and staff were worried it would wash away parts of the popular Gruffalo Trail.

A spokeswoman for Severn Trent said: "We received a number of calls about sewer flooding and went out the same day to clean up the area affected.

"We are now carrying out thorough investigations to understand the reasons for this flooding and resolve any longer term issues.

"In addition we are working with loss adjusters and insurers to support those customers affected."

The Forest escaped relatively lightly, with other regions of the country being hit by the worst September storm in 30 years.