RESIDENTS of a street in Popley have expressed their anger after being left to deal with overflowing waste on their road for four days after a sewage pipe leak.

The leak occurred on Glastonbury Close on Monday, March 1, following a blockage in the water pipes.

The pipe had become blocked, which forced wastewater to back up and overflow through manhole covers.

Thames Water were informed, and came out to fix it. However, the promised clean-up team didn’t arrive until Thursday, despite several phone calls and messages sent from residents on the street.

Sara Graham, who is registered disabled and a carer for her vulnerable niece, was one of the residents affected, as the pipe in question was outside her home.

“It wasn’t the nicest thing! When you see something from an animal that's bad enough, but this was a lot of smelly, human waste, it was horrible.

“We couldn’t get down the street to get the kids to school, and had to walk all around the houses. There’s older people on this street, and children. My niece is vulnerable and I had to grab her to stop her running through it. The street is used as a cut-through as well and lots of people were walking through it without realising what it was.

“My friend, she’s a key worker, and there was no way she could get in and out her house without stepping through it.

“We shouldn't have to do that, just because someone has messed up doing their job.”

Amber Holbrough, who also lives on Glastonbury Close, added: “We had faeces all the way down the path, covering the car park, down to Popley Way and on the main roads. This was not a priority job in the eyes of Thames Water even with faeces, dirty toilet roll and waste floating and swimming all the footpaths and roads.

“The residents of Glastonbury Close have had to park away from their houses and walk home, also the children haven’t been able to play out the front which isn’t fair and residents have been having to walk through the waste and faeces to be able to leave their house. It is absolutely disgusting and unacceptable.”

Sara explained that she had been in contact with the company several times, as had four or five of her neighbours.

“They fixed the problem on the Monday and told us the cleaning crew would be coming out on the Tuesday. They set up their jets, and I went out and asked if they wanted a cup of tea, and they just sat in their vans,” said Sara.

Initially the residents were told Thames Water had 24 hours to complete the job, then “they changed their story” and said they had until the end of the second day.

However, Sara says there was another mix-up of communication, and the team that arrived on Wednesday were told they were fixing a leak, not cleaning the road.

It wasn’t until Thursday lunchtime (March 4) that the problem was resolved.

She added: “They kept giving us excuses. I think, honestly, they were thinking that rain was due and that they’d leave the rain to wash away, which obviously it didn’t.

“The clean-up job is done, but you can still see where it was, it was a rushed job. I think they should at least apologise and admit that they did wrong to the residents that have had to deal with it.”

“They are hiking their prices up for water, but we are left with human mess on our streets.”

A Thames Water spokesperson told the Gazette that the original blockage the team were dealing with was as a result of wet wipes being flushed, and urged people to be mindful.

They added: “Sewer flooding is unpleasant and disruptive, and we really do sympathise with everyone affected by it.

“In this instance the flooding was caused by an obstruction of wet wipes in a sewer in neighbouring Melrose Walk. The problem was made worse by tree roots growing into the pipe.

“Our teams cleared these blockages on Monday, March 1, and a specialist clean-up crew then safely removed the flood water from the street on Thursday, March 4.

“Many people might not realise, but wet wipes are nearly entirely plastic which means they don’t break down like toilet paper does – it’s no different to trying to flush a plastic bag down the loo. Even if they say they are ‘flushable’ please stick them in the bin instead.

“We’d urge everyone to help by only flushing the 3Ps – pee, poo and toilet paper – as well as disposing of fat and oils in the bin, not the sink. It all helps to keep the sewers flowing and to prevent them blocking and backing up into people’s houses and gardens, or even into the local rivers.”