Sprowston man calls for action over sewage in garden
Sam EmanuelA father whose garden is covered in toilet roll and excreta because of a drainage problem is calling for urgent action to be taken.Shane Stork, 35, of Salhouse Road, Sprowston, said that every time it rains heavily, the drains in his garden and the road overflow and flood his garden with sewage.Sam Emanuel
A father whose garden is covered in toilet roll and excreta because of a drainage problem is calling for urgent action to be taken.
Shane Stork, 35, of Salhouse Road, Sprowston, said that every time it rains heavily, the drains in his garden and the road overflow and flood his garden with sewage.
The flooding has been happening since he moved in two years ago, and last year, one of his sons, Oliver, who was four at the time, became seriously ill with a virus that a doctor said could be linked to the sewage issue.
He said: 'Every time we've had problems I've rung Anglian Water, and they keep telling us that they are going to sort it out but it's still happening.
'The last time I spoke to them before this was in December, when they told me they were making a 3D model of the street to find out what was happening, but that I must understand it would take a bit of time to do.
'We haven't spoken since, then this after this latest downpour it's all happened again. But this time it's got under the bungalow, and the soil in the garden really smells unpleasant.
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'We have three young children and my wife has been keeping them inside because of what happened last time, so they can't go and play in the garden. We just want them to sort the problem out and sterilise it all.'
Anglian Water said they had sent workmen round to clean the mess up, and blamed the problem on a freak storm.
But Mr Stork said that when he returned home from his job as a funeral director, nothing had been cleaned and there was no sign that anyone had been round. .
An Anglian Water spokeswoman said: 'It has been flooded twice now, according to our records. The flooding was caused by a once-in-100-years storm, which are obviously very rare, and there were 45mm to 65mm of rain an hour, and no sewerage system is going to cope with that kind of downfall.
'We have got some men down there now cleaning it up. We are fully aware of the risks of flooding in that area and are looking to see whether there's anything we can do to stop it happening.'
Have you got a story? Call Sam Emanuel on 01603 772438 or email sam.emanuel@archant.co.uk.
