A family has been living on a lake of raw sewage since a pipe broke last week.

A mum says she has not dared let her four children play outside for the last four days because of her concerns about the health risks.

Sandra Dempsey, 30, of Bockingham Green, Pitsea, said: "I have a child with cerebral palsy who is considered to be at serious risk of infection, but the council has left the pipe unfixed and has done next-to-nothing about the sewage that has got under our house."

Pong problem - Sandra Dempsey is disgusted at the hazard posed by the broken sewage pipe Picture: ROBIN WOOSEY

Ms Dempsey claims the council and Anglia Water went to fix a blocked sewage pipe, but ended up breaking the pipe and letting raw sewage into some nearby residents' homes and into the foundations of her own house.

A spokesman for Anglia Water said: "We are happy to work together with the council on this, but cannot get involved beyond unblocking the pipe.

"The council needs to start cleaning up if there is internal flooding."

A Basildon Council spokesman said: "We have now surveyed the condition of the pipe with CCTV and have discovered the problem has been caused by tree roots. The pipe is not broken as such. Work will start this morning to dig out a ten metre section of pipe and replace it."

Published Wednesday October 30, 2002

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