Bristol flat repeatedly floods with raw sewage for months

A Bristol woman has been left feeling "hopeless" because her flat has been repeatedly flooded with raw sewage for nearly a year.

Fatima Hussein, 53, said the problem at her ground floor flat at Whitson House, St Judes, began in January.

Bristol City Council has arranged for the sewage to be emptied once a week, but Ms Hussein said it returned within 24 hours, last weekend.

The council has apologised and said it would "undertake any necessary works".

"I will ensure someone is in contact with the family promptly to find solutions," added Councillor Tom Renhard, cabinet member for housing.

Ms Hussein, a family support worker, said: "I'm so helpless now. I've tried everything. I have been in this situation for the last 10 months."

She said the council "haven't thought about how to mend" the problem.

"The council just pushes me to someone else [whenever I contact them]," she added.

Mr Renhard said the issue had only been brought to his attention at the weekend.

Ms Hussein said she has had issues with her drains since about 2018, but things have been "getting worse" all year.

The mother-of-two, who moved in in 2000, said that because she was on the ground floor all of the sewage from the block's 16 flats passes through her pipes.

Issues with a pipe outside the flats has caused it to block, before backfilling and flooding her flat through the toilet, sink and bath, she said.

For the past few months the council has been sending out someone to unblock the pipe once a week, but the problem has got "even worse" with it being clogged again within a matter of hours, she explained.

"A man came to unblock it on Saturday and less than 24 hours later it was full up again and it is gushing again," Ms Hussein said.

"I pay my full rent, I pay everything but I am not treated properly. This is hugely affecting my mental health. The smell is unbearable.

"Human faeces is flooding my flat when people upstairs use the toilet."

She said the emergency repair people were "so shocked to see" what had happened.

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said there was "muck" all over her flat.

"I've never seen anything like it. The whole building needs help," she said.

"It's an environmental issue, it's a health risk, [but] not one of us have been told that this is happening."

Ms Hussein recently spend £900 getting a new floor installed, but she claims it has been "ruined" by the flooding.

"I am living in a sewer," she said.

"I have had enough. I am helpless, I am so tired. When I try to wash my hands, the water gushes up from the toilet."

Mr Renhard said he had asked the repairs service for an "urgent update" and a "plan for tackling the problem".

"We will undertake any necessary works to ensure the family do not have to live in such conditions," he said.

"I thank all who have raised this issue with me and I apologise to the family for the difficulties they have faced in seeking a resolution."

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