Anger as village streets flooded with sewage

Residents say they are angry as sewage has been flooding villages for two weeks.

Twigworth, Innsworth and Longford in Gloucestershire have seen significant housing developments in recent years, with hundreds more planned.

Villagers are concerned this will put pressure on what they described as a failing sewage network, with George Sharpley, chairman of Twigworth Parish Council, saying: "People are angry and worried."

Severn Trent (STW) said it was working to address the issues and had invested heavily to improve the system.

One Twigworth resident said: "As soon as the heavy rain started, the water in the fields began to smell of sewage.

"You can see it bubbling up from below the surface."

Tankers have been sent to draw waste out of manholes, but villagers said they were unsure how long it would continue, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports.

"We cannot get any information from the tanker drivers or from the borough council," said Rick Harris, from Longford Parish Council.

Sharpley said they were asking for "two things".

"An update on the immediate crisis, and secondly that hundreds of new houses due to be added to these failing networks will be held back until the problems are properly sorted. I've had no reply to emails or phone messages," he said.

Sarah Hands, lead member for planning and placemaking at the borough council, said the Environment Agency was investigating the problem and that concerns had been raised with STW multiple times.

She explained the water company was responsible for maintaining the drainage network and ensuring that it can cope with new developments, and is "consulted on all relevant planning applications".

STW said it would keep customers updated.

"Investigations show our system is operating as it should, but we're working with local developers on an underlying issue," a spokesperson added.

They said this had caused the recent flooding "and is not a capacity issue".

"While this is being fixed, tankers are being used as a short‑term measure to help manage the situation, as we work towards a permanent solution."

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