FOUL-SMELLING sewage has been seen gushing out of a gully on to a main road for days.

Sewer water, used toilet roll and waste started spilling out of drains on to the corner of Roberts Road and Mersea Road, in Colchester, on Friday.

A number of people are believed to have reported the matter to Anglian Water, with the first report being made on Friday at about 10.30am.

Colchester councillor Dave Harris was informed about the overflowing sewage on Saturday morning by an alarmed resident who emailed him.

He said: “A resident told me sewage was coming out of a gully into the road.

“I went to see on Saturday, and had to stand back so I did not get splashed by the sewer water by cars driving past.

“The smell was absolutely awful and there was even toilet roll floating around.

“It was an awful stench.”

Mr Harris then reported the issue to Anglian Water and Essex Highways as the sewage was continuing to pour on to the road.

He was told by Anglian Water it would be sending a team to try to fix the problem.

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Nick Meyer, another resident who reported the issue, said Anglian Water arrived at the scene the following day.

“They allowed sewage to billow unfettered down the street for over 48 hours approximately,” he added.

He said he was especially concerned as cars were seen driving past and splashing contaminated water on to pedestrians.

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “Our teams were called out this weekend to clear a sewer blockage on Mersea Road in Colchester which obstructed the flow of the network and caused some localised flooding in the area.

“Our teams attended to remove the blockage and complete a thorough clean up of the area after discovering a high volume of unflushables."

Traffic lights were in operation during the work for the safety of our staff working in the road.

He added: “We will soon be completing a CCTV survey of the sewer pipes to ensure there is no debris left in the pipes and to ensure they are working as they should.

“We would like to remind customers to help us keep the sewer network clear by only flushing the three Ps – pee, poo and [toilet] paper.”