Couple ask Yorkshire Water for £39,000 after cellar flood

A couple have taken legal action against Yorkshire Water after a leaking sewage pipe flooded their cellar - resulting in what they claim is permanent damage.

Steven and Tracy Ashmore have asked for compensation of £39,000 over the incident at their terraced home in Chapeltown, Sheffield.

Yorkshire Water did repair the broken pipe, but the Ashmores said delays in the action taken by its engineers left the cellar in poor condition.

Yorkshire Water said its staff returned to the property on "several occasions" but apologised for the couple's "distressing experience".

The issue began in June, when an inch of water appeared in the cellar. Yorkshire Water's initial call-out identified a displaced sewage pipe at the side of the house.

Steven, 62, said an engineer conducted a dye test for traces of ammonia in the water - despite it being fluorescent green.

The Ashmores said it took another week for Yorkshire Water to replace the pipe.

"Imagine having to ask your neighbours to not use their toilets and washing machines so much because it was all gushing straight into our cellar," said Tracy.

Steven spent several days in the cellar pumping the water out, and set up a water butt to contain the dirty water, but within days it was overflowing.

"When they refilled the hole they're supposed to compact the refilled material every 150 millimetres, but they just basically chucked a load of rubbish in.

"There were bits of broken plastic pipes and screwdrivers and there were bits of house brick."

It meant despite the dry weather and the new pipe, the cellar didn't dry out.

"We were still getting loads of water in. It was basically any rain that fell during that period was seeping through the uncompacted soil, and because the cellar was so saturated it had nowhere else to go."

The next few months became "all consuming" for them.

Tracy said: "Literally all we think about is the cellar, we go to bed think about the cellar, when it's raining we think about the cellar, it's ruined our holiday worrying about it.

"I think I've got a bit of basement anxiety now because I got to a point where he'd go to work and I was scared to go down there because of what I'd find.

"In the middle of the night I'd wake up and think I can hear a noise."

Steven admitted the issue had "affected" everything the couple does.

On 21 September, Yorkshire Water returned to their house to refill the hole around the pipe - but Steve said it was "too late".

"If they'd have actually done what they were supposed to do in the first place, when it originally started, and sent out the drying team like I requested, sent out tankers to mitigate the overflowing water butt and a disinfectant team to desanitise the cellar floor, it wouldn't have been a problem.

"We just want it repairing. It's made our house basically worthless."

Tracy added: "At the moment, every time it rains, even though the repairs have been done, it's so wet under the floor that what worries me is rising damp, months, years down the line.

"Why should we pay for this - it wasn't our fault."

The couple have put in a claim for £39,000 from Yorkshire Water. £22,000 would cover remedial work to the cellar, with the rest covering the cost of pumps and loss of income.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: "We'd like to apologise to the customer for what will undoubtedly have been a distressing experience. We returned to the property on several occasions and reworked the previous repair. As this is going through the court claims process, it would not be right for us to comment further at this stage."

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