Sewage issues force villager to use cat litter

Ongoing sewage problems in a village have forced one resident to rely on using a commode filled with cat litter, a council meeting was told.

People living in Grimston, near King's Lynn, Norfolk, have struggled for months with blocked toilets and sewage in their homes, they said.

During a meeting organised by Grimston Parish Council on 8 April, an 87-year-old woman shared how she was unable to use her toilet because it was so backed up, forcing her to use a commode.

An Anglian Water spokesperson said the issue was part of a broader flooding problem and it would work with other authorities to put a plan in place for the village to "address these issues".

The woman told the gathering: "I’ve had to resort to sitting on cat litter to get rid of my own waste because the sewer in the front of my house backs up whenever we get heavy rain and it overflows and backs into my drains."

Barry Askem, who lives in Grimston, said: "Every night for the last six or eight months we've had the tankers running and pumping up at the station... it's constant; there's a lot of water and a lot of waste."

Liberal Democrat borough councillor Rob Colwell said residents felt "a lot of anger".

"We had stories of sewage flooding homes, geysers of water coming from street manhole covers that test positive for E. coli, people contracting E. coli."

Mark Dye, Grimston parish councillor and Gaywood River campaigner, said: "Whilst I appreciate 2024 saw record levels of rainfall, the problems in the three villages have been getting worse for years.

"This all points to a failure in proper long-term investment to keep up with local development and upgrades to infrastructure."

Anglian Water said it was committed to finding a solution as part of its 2035 strategy, but could not provide a timescale.

A spokesperson added that the problem was part of a broader flooding issue and would work with authorities to put a plan in place to address it.

The Environment Agency said officers had been sent to the site and that it would continue to work with Anglian Water to "ensure appropriate action is taken".

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