A community is fuming after their street has been flooded with raw sewage for two days.

The stinking mush of faeces and toilet tissue burst out the seams of a manhole cover in one of the resident’s front garden.

Roughly 40ft of Oldfields Road in Sutton has been submerged in sludge since the incident, which is thought to have happened on Tuesday evening.

The potent gunge also slid into a woman's garden.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “Wednesday morning was the first I heard of it.

“My gardener said he couldn’t get on with his work because there was toilet paper everywhere.

“I feel really upset about it but there’s no use getting angry.

“I phoned the council but they said it is the water company’s responsibility.”

Theodora Howell, 49, who lives on Oldfields Road, said: “I had this same problem in my garden some years ago.

“I am slightly worried now it will happen again in future.

“It is such a revolting smell, it really is unpleasant.”

Your Local Guardian:

Worried: Ms Howell fears her drain may overflow again after the latest eruption

People living in the street said parents on the school run opted to carry their children over the sewage rather than allow them to walk.

A spokesperson from Thames Water said: “We were called to a property this week to remove a blockage that had caused a sewer to overflow.

"This blockage was caused by a large number of wet wipes in the sewer pipe.

"While packaging may say ‘flushable’ this does not mean that the wipe breaks down inside the sewer pipe, and when it mixes it with cooled cooking fat it creates a solid wall.

"Sewer flooding is a nasty experience for our customers, so we would urge people to please remember that only human waste and toilet roll should go down the loo and cooking fat should always be thrown in the bin.”

Your Local Guardian:

Drain strain: The manhole cover was bursting at the seams

Your Local Guardian:

Fresh coat: A close up of Oldfields Road's new layer of sewage and grime

Mrs Georgina Bexley, an Oldfields Road resident, says various drains have overflowed whilst she has lived there.

She said: "I have been here around 5 years and it has happened once or twice a year.

"There must be something wrong under there.

"I find it really irritating because it stinks."

Thames Water stated they first arrived at the scene at 12.55am on May 14, but left after there was no answer from the person living in the property.

The company say they returned in the afternoon of that day and managed to unblock the drain.

They also claim they will be going to Oldfields Road on Thursday May 15 to clean the mess.


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