Pair trapped for 10 days by sewage flood

An elderly couple were stuck in their home for 10 days after sewage flooded their driveway and back garden.

More than six inches of water surrounded the home of Ron and Iris Hyde in Tipton, leaving them unable to get outside.

Mrs Hyde, aged 85, uses a walking frame and only the back door is convenient for her to use. She relies on their car to get around, but it was out of bounds as neither of them could wade through the ankle-deep sewage.

Staff at the Ockerhill convenience store next door took them food as they could not go shopping.

Water firm Severn Trent was repeatedly contacted by the couple and their neighbours, and finally drained the area on Saturday – 10 days after the flood first started on December 21.

Engineers had visited three times during that period but Mr and Mrs Hyde said they failed to tackle the problem.

The water appeared to have risen through a drain and manhole cover near the back door of the house in Toll End Road, but workers have struggled to find the root cause.

Mrs Hyde said: "I think it really has been unacceptable. The smell has been terrible from the sewage and we shouldn't have had to put up with this for so long."

She said a similar problem occurred 11 years ago and engineers then believed it was down to a problem in the pipes network under the road. Severn Trent issued an apology to Mr and Mrs Hyde but was unable to say why the situation had taken so long to deal with.

Spokesman Sara-Jane O'Kane said: "Severn Trent would like to apologise to all those affected by the sewer flooding in Toll End Road.

"We understand this must have been a terrible situation, especially at this time of year." She said many blockages over the festive season were caused by extra fat, oil and grease being deposited in the sewers.