A blocked sewer on a road in Kent has poured raw sewage within a few feet of a local primary school.
It seems the sewer was first reported to local waste water company Thames Water at the end of April, but the problem surfaced again after heavy rainfall washed waste down a hill from the leak site.
When notified of the incident, Thames Water sent an engineer who found that the problem was caused by tree roots which had infiltrated the sewer system and caused the blockage. The chairman of governors for the local school which was affected by the sewage, Penny Kift, said that the manhole from where the sewage was overflowing was covered in toilet paper. She spoke to the Westerham Chronicle:
“I don’t want to scaremonger or worry parents – but obviously having it so close to the school is not a good idea.
“People need to be very aware of problems like this and report them if they see anything.”
A Thames Water spokesperson commented:
“We have been out to clear a blockage on the pipe today and apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.
“We cleared a similar blockage on April 27 and we have arranged to get engineers to come out with specialist equipment to cut out tree roots that are causing this sewer pipe to block.”