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'Garden sewage leak has been horrible and traumatic'

Juliette Parkin,in Lamberhurstand
Cash Murphy,South East
News imageJuliette Parkin/BBC Tracey and James Parfitt pictured at her home in Lamberhurst, Kent. Tracey is wearing a red jumper and is looking at the camera. She is wearing a red jumper and has blonde hair. James is wearing a blue t-shirt and black fleece. He has brown hair.Juliette Parkin/BBC
The couple say they have had a "horrible, traumatic" time

A couple from Kent who have had raw sewage flooding into the front and back gardens of their home since January said it had been a "horrible, traumatic" time.

Tracey and James Parfitt, from Lamberhurst, reported the issue to Southern Water, who came to investigate but concluded that it was linked to nearby privately owned land.

"The colour of it, you could see bits of toilet roll, you could see food - the smell gives it away really...[it was] foul," said Tracey.

When asked for comment, Southern Water directed the BBC to the Environment Agency, and said the sewage was not related to its infrastructure.

News imageTracey Parfitt The pond in the garden of Tracey and James Parfitt in Lamberhurst after the sewage issue escalated. A white liquid can be seen in the pond.Tracey Parfitt
Tracey and James Parfitt believe the raw sewage flooding in their garden is the responsibility of Southern Water, but the water company denies this

Tracey said the escalating situation had led to a pond becoming "a muddy hole that was collecting the sewage".

"Our land became more and more saturated, to the point where the human excrement was sitting on top of our gravel," she said.

Becoming increasingly desperate for solutions, the couple paid for a deep dig to be undertaken which they said uncovered a pipe spewing out sewage.

They put a temporary bung on this pipe, alleviating the issue, but ultimately want Southern Water to do a further investigation and camera survey to identify the source of the problem.

News imageTracey Parfitt The pond in the garden of Tracey and James Parfitt in Lamberhurst after the sewage issue escalated. The pond is miscoloured and the area beside is covered in a sludgy brown liquid. Tracey Parfitt
James said the pond had been full of "excrement and silty, muddy waste"

Southern Water insists the issue does not fall under its jurisdiction, a claim supported by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) who described it as an "environmental health issue".

Defra directed the BBC to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC), who said a member of the council's Environmental Protection team had visited the property last week.

A TWBC spokesperson said: "Following the visit we asked Southern Water for more information to help our investigation.

"We understand they have since visited and we are waiting to hear from them."

News imageTracey Parfitt The garden of Tracey and James Parfitt prior to the sewage issue escalating. The garden is peppered with flowers and shrubs, with pebbles scattered in between. Their home can be seen in the background of the image, as can a black car.Tracey Parfitt
The Parfitts say the pond and surrounding areas were previously in pristine condition

James said the situation had been a "horrible, traumatic time for us".

"We're very nervous that the seepage of the sewage from the broken pipes will return, it needs to be tracked back to the source of the issue, and they need to fix from where it's coming from," he added.

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