Keighley residents' anger at sewage spill nightmare (From Keighley News)
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Keighley residents' anger at sewage spill nightmare
7:30am Friday 28th September 2012 in Keighley By David Knights
Lilian Hughes in the yard of her house, which was filled with sewage spewing from the pipe on the ground, left
Residents of a Keighley street are kicking up a stink about a sewage leak outside their homes.
Sewage spurted into the air from a burst sewer in the middle of Wheathead Lane several times last week.
Despite efforts by Yorkshire Water the problem, caused during heavy rain, spread to the garden of at least one home.
Lilian Hughes said the effluent flooded her kitchen.
She said the four-inch-deep mess damaged her kitchen units and almost seeped into her living room.
But Mrs Hughes is angry Yorkshire Water took at least two days to clear the mess, despite arranging several appointments.
She claimed she and her six-year-old granddaughter Shae had been ill because of the pollution.
She said: “The force blew the cover off the sewerage pipe in my garden. My garden was full of the stuff.
“The smell was atrocious. It covered the kitchen floor and was creeping towards the living room carpet. We had to put bath towels down to stop it.”
Mrs Hughes’ neighbour, Bradford councillor Adrian Farley, was among residents who called Yorkshire Water for help.
He said that initially raw sewage sprayed up near the middle of the road but after investigating, Yorkshire Water concluded there was no problem.
He said he had to contact the company twice more after sewage began flooding people’s homes.
Coun Farley said: “I stressed the health and safety issues and someone came within 45 minutes. The contractor said it was serious and stayed until about 11pm.”
Coun Farley said Yorkshire Water promised to investigate and carry out a power-clean on the third day, but did not turn up. That night the sewer had again sprayed sewage over cars and the pavement.
A Yorkshire Water spokesman said: “Flooding of any kind is something no-one should ever have to suffer and we’re working hard to investigate the cause of the incidents.
“We’re also inspecting the local sewer network to check for problems. If we identify any issues, we’ll work to resolve these as swiftly as possible.”
Coun Farley this week said Yorkshire Water had carried out a clean up of the sewer and this had helped.
He said workers had found concrete in the drain, which should be removed, but it was unclear when this would be carried out.
