First, parts of the cricket pitch on Leith Links started to sink and turn into mudbaths. Then, a four-feet deep hole opened up near the cricket square.

But people really began scratching their heads when allotment holders found themselves wading through knee-deep water.

The finger was initially pointed at developers suspected of damaging the field drains. It was only when council engineers were called in that the real culprit was discovered – sea drains thought to be up to 300 years old.

The only trouble is they have no idea who put them there in the first place or why. Cornelius Waugh, president of the Leith Franklin Academicals Cricket Club and a former city councillor, said: "The hole basically caused misery for the team for the entire summer because we couldn't get a game in.

"We've got two squares on the Links and the hole developed close to the main square, so we haven't been able to play there since July.

"At its height it was about four feet deep. It became a bit of a pond and it started attracting these strange migratory birds with red feet that we've never seen before."

The rising water also caused chaos on the Links' allotments.

Alistair Tibbet, chairman of the Greener Leith Campaign, said: "The Links allotment holders were knee deep in water. My own allotment is up on Ferry Road, safely on top of a hill, but I felt really sorry for them."

The suggestion that nearby development may have been to blame was soon ruled out once the council engineers were called in. A council spokesman said: "The flooding was caused by a blockage in a previously undiscovered historical drainage system.

"The drain is U-shaped and sealed with sandstone caps, which have recently cracked and allowed debris to fill in the drains."

An archaeologist was on hand as the engineers dug down to explore in case the Links gave up any of its historical secrets.

The Links was the scene of part of the Siege of Leith in 1560, when thousands of Scottish Catholic and French troops fell to Protestant armies loyal to the newly crowned English Queen Elizabeth I. However, the archaeologist was unable to shed much light on the unusual drainage system they discovered.

"It's possible that the system is pre-Victorian, and may even date from the 1700s," the council spokesman added.

"However, up until the end of the 19th century the Links would have been sandy. There would be no need for a drainage system there so it must have been used to carry water out to sea somewhere further up the line.

"It would take a massive archaeological dig to discover the course of this drainage system which would obviously cost quite a bit of money, so we think the cash would be better spent finding a more permanent solution to drainage problems to ensure this type of flooding doesn't happen again."