A TODDLER flooded his parents home causing almost £5,000 worth of damage - after leaving the top from a toothpaste tube in a plughole.

Kellyann Boocock, 28, was in the bathroom helping her two sons, Jaydn, four and Ben, two, brush their teeth.

She turned her back on Ben as she led Jaydn downstairs and the toddler turned the sink tap back on and followed.

Kellyann returned home an hour later after dropping Jaydn off at nursery to find the entire house had been flooded.

Kellyann, from Hartlepool, said: "I helped Ben and Jaydn to brush their teeth but was in a rush to get Jaydn to nursery.

"I turned the taps off myself and turned away from Ben to put Jaydn's coat on.

"I shouted for him to hurry up and he followed me out the bathroom and we left the house.

"We were away for about an hour.

"When we came home I walked up to the front door and I could hear a strange noise.

"I stopped for a moment to listen and realised it was the sound of running water.

"The sight that greeted me when I opened the front door was dreadful.

"Water was running down the walls of the living room and kitchen ceiling had collapsed.

"I ran upstairs and turned the tap off on the bathroom. I plunged my hand into the sink and found the toothpaste tube cap in the plughole.

"I realised it must have been Ben that had turned the tap back on. He is a water baby.

"He loves having baths and turning the taps on and off.

"When I went back downstairs Ben was standing in the kitchen with water dripping down him, 'Mammy, it's raining' he said to me.

"I don't blame Ben for what happened, he doesn't know any different.

"I am sure he didn't mean to flood the house - at least I hope he didn't."

The damage to the house has been estimated at least £4,500. The carpets in the living room and stairs are ruined as well as the lino flooring in the bathroom and kitchen.

The kitchen cupboards need replacing and the ceiling had collapsed after the accident three weeks ago.

The hefty bill has put Kellyann's plans for a £2,000 dream wedding at Gretna Green on hold.

Her and fiance Mark Facchini, 28, an HGV mechanic, had planned to tie the knot in August this year but the wedding has now been postponed .

Kellyann said: "It couldn't have come at a worse time.

"We have been engaged for ten years but every time we plan a wedding something happens.

"The first time we planned to get wed in the Dominican Republic but Mark's Gran became ill so we cancelled that plan.

"About eighteen months ago we started planning another wedding but that was put on hold when I became pregnant with Ben.

"We have got driers and dehumidifiers everywhere. At times it is like being in a wind tunnel."