Couple fed up after decade of sewage and condoms washing into garden

Pat and Roy Roberts, who live in Buckingham Close in Stafford, have been battling flooding and the water company since they moved in over a decade ago.

Pat thinks the problem started a long time ago.

"When these houses were first built they are not allowed to do it now, but the storm water goes with the sewerage, so when it rains heavily the pipes can’t cope with it," she said.

“The pipework was installed in the 1940s, maybe even earlier, during this time they have built more and more houses and nothing has been done to the sewers.

“It’s a big problem in this area and the just keep pushing it under the carpet.”

When they phoned Severn Trent, the firm allegedly told them they had no record of their address.

This is despite the company apparently visiting the property and countless phone calls from the the Roberts family.

Pat and Roy only became aware of the problem when they moved in, but it has become a long running issue.

Pat added: “When we first got the flooding a Severn Trent manager came out and he said he was here eight months ago.”

This is despite the paperwork when they bought the house saying there was no problem with flooding or the sewers.

They have even redesigned their garden to make it easier to clean when it floods with sewage water.

Roy has dug a two foot deep hole and filled it with gravel all the way around the edge of their garden so when it rains it can soak the water away.

However, even that cannot cope with the amount of sewage water entering their garden.

“We have done a lot of the work ourselves, Roy has installed a patio which is easy to clean, he has dug the soakaway to try and help the situation but who wants sewage coming up every time it rains.

“It comes up from the kitchen and bathroom grid.

"It’s just not on, we shouldn’t be expected to keep cleaning this up. You get sanitary wear, condoms and human excrement," she continued.

They feel like prisoners in their home when it floods.

"Out of the kitchen grid comes human excrement which means we can’t leave the house."

The garden is essentially out of commission until it is cleaned and sanitised.

Over the summer Pat says she planted bulbs in her garden and then the sewage water washed them all away, adding: "We love our garden but you just lose all interest in it."

On one occasion, they were away when the flooding happened and when they returned home and noticed the problem they reported it to Severn Trent, but were told because they hadn’t reported it to them within 24 hours they couldn’t do anything about it

In the last month, it has flooded twice.

They have also questioned why neighbours have been given non-return valves but they have not been offered them.

“You are frightened to go away, on one occasion we were due to go to the NEC but due to the flooding they had to cancel. You just dread it because you don’t know how much water there is going to be.”

They are worried about the insurability of their house and worried that if they decided to sell they wouldn’t be able to because of the ongoing issues.

In 2016 former Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy wrote to the Chief Executive of Severn Trent, Liv Garfield asking them to “resolve this problem that is causing so much distress to my constituents”.

However six years since that letter nothing has been done.

A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “We appreciate how distressing any kind of flooding can be and we are very sorry to hear about the issue at this property on Buckingham Close.

“Our teams are aware of the issue and are currently carrying out an investigation in the area to determine the possible cause and assess the best way to resolve it.

"If the issue is found to be due to the Severn Trent network, we will work to resolve it as quickly as possible".