Lydd residents left unable to shower or flush toilets as sewage discharge floods homes

  • ITV News Meridian's John Ryall spoke to residents on the street

Residents say they've been left unable to shower or flush their toilets due to inches of wastewater making their homes "uninhabitable".

The affected properties in the Copperfields area of Lydd, Kent have been submerged in sewage discharge for almost three weeks, according to those living there.

It has been flowing into their homes through toilets and washing machines, and has been blamed on inadequate infrastructure from Southern Water.

The company has put portable toilets and showers on the street in a bid to help with the situation.

NHS paramedic Mike Taylor has lived on the street for 10 years and said it's the worst they've ever seen it".

Mr Taylor said: "It's been awful - to the point where we were going to move out." Credit: ITV News Meridian

"It's affecting more and more properties," he said.

"There are some elderly and vulnerable people here with illnesses and they can't understand what's going on. The whole thing is quite surreal.

"Our house is essentially uninhabitable at this point. I've got now subsidence due to the flooding, my ground is sinking in."

A mother with a disabled daughter is also struggling to cope with the stress of the situation.

Phillippa Omerod said: "It was absolutely awful, I couldn’t get my daughter in the bath. She has accidents in bed, it has just been a nightmare."

More heavy rain is forecast and residents fear it will be the other side of Christmas before the problem is fixed.

Southern Water has supplied showers for the street but some residents say it has not been suitable for their family's needs. Credit: ITV News Meridian

A Southern Water spokesperson said: "The issues for residents in Copperfields Lydd have been stressful and distressing and both we are working to ensure customers can use their facilities as normal – as we believe they currently can.

"Our teams are regularly visiting customers and operational teams are ensuring that we are staying on top of flows using tankers.

"Due to the consistent heavy rainfall, the ground in the Copperfields area of Lydd has become saturated and the local drains and sewers inundated with surface water run-off.

"This is putting significant pressure on our local wastewater pumping station.

Southern Water has supplied six 4,000-gallon tankers since Monday 30 October to ease pressure on the network. Credit: ITV News Meridian

"While our nearby Derrings site is working as it should, it has struggled to keep up with demand.

"In the near term, we will use tankers to relieve pressure on Derrings.

"Long-term fixes are a major challenge – this is a large catchment and sealing all our drains and sewers might still not resolve the challenge.

"There is evidence that some surface water drains have been wrongly connected to our network and this will be investigated and any found will be rectified."

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