East Sussex residents 'furious' as sewage water continues to leak into their homes

People living in the Wealden village say their sewage system cannot cope with new houses being connected to it.

Serena Schellenberg, a resident on Station Road, said: “The situation has really now come to a head. The residents are furious with the attitude of Southern Water and their lack of care. The situation now is a health hazard and has affected many properties and people. Enough is enough.”

Residents say they have experienced foul sewer drains and sewage spillages ever since properties in Roebuck Park were connected onto the same system ten years ago.

Jim and Delia Cottingham, who also live on Station Road, say that since November they have not been able to use their toilet whenever the drains are full, leading to a sewage spill each time on their patio.

Serena also told this newspaper that she is still waiting for Southern Water to clean up her patio from a big sewage spill on December 31.

She said: “This has become a health hazard as we cannot go out of our back door and having sewage lying around, it is not healthy.

"Yet again today we have had to chase and ask when is the clear up going to happen and we are not the only ones affected waiting for a clean up. It is disgusting.”

Tankers were deployed by Southern Water on New Year’s Day and were seen sucking out the waste from the village’s pumping station for five straight days.

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The water firm told SussexWorld that investigations are on-going into how to mitigate the issues in this area, which is very prone to flooding and has doubled in size in ten years.

Southern Water also confirmed that it was planning to install anti-flooding measures in various properties, alongside wider improvements to its nearby pumping station.

A spokesperson for the company said: “Situated at the confluence of two rivers, this area has a history of flooding but climate change and population growth have presented increasing challenges, at times of heavy rainfall. We are working as hard as we can to support our customers moving forwards.”