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Sewage spilling into floodwater in Shouldham and Burnham Thorpe

Jill Bennett/BBC Flooding in Shouldham, NorfolkJill Bennett/BBC
Blocked drains and sewage systems has led to sewage detritus floating in surface water in Norfolk villages

The people of two villages say they fear floodwater caused by recent heavy rain is contaminated with sewage.

Parish councils in Burnham Thorpe and Shouldham, in Norfolk, are calling for upgrades to sewerage and drain systems.

Anglian Water said the local drainage networks were "complicated" with different owners and responsibilities.

Burnham Thorpe parish councillor Mima Garland said she was concerned that contaminated water was getting into the River Burn, a chalk stream.

Nigel Walsh, chairman of Shouldham Parish Council, said: "Residents are worried, not by water coming on to their land, but the possibility of entering into their houses."

Jill Bennett/BBC Colin Chapman outside his garageJill Bennett/BBC
Colin Chapman, of Shouldham, said his garage flooded last year, and toilets could not be flushed for three days at a time

Anglian Water said they had not been notified of the problem, although Shouldham parish clerk Mike Inder said the company's tankers has been pumping out the system on Monday.

In Burnham Thorpe, sewage had been spilling out of a manhole cover in the centre of the village since before Christmas, according to Ms Garland.

Listen: Raw sewage on the streets of Burnham Thorpe

The parish councillor filmed the sewage emerging into the main road.

"It's much more dilute now than it was before Christmas, when the smell was appalling," she said.

"We have been getting dirty loo paper and sanitary products.

"It's in front of the pub and because cars are driving through they are tracking the waste through the village as well."

Jill Bennett/BBC Contaminated water in the road behind parish Cllr Mima Garland.Jill Bennett/BBC
Mima Garland says sewage and floodwater is coming out of a manhole cover in Burnham Thorpe

Anglian Water said the exceptional rainfall was to blame for the overflows.

Burnham Thorpe did not have a sealed sewerage system, it said, so floodwater could get into it.

The company said it had invested £1.6m in the area, including £1.46m to increase storm storage and capacity in Burnham's Water Recycling Centre.

This had enabled the system to operate for far longer than it previously would have done in such extreme weather, the firm added.

In a statement, Anglian Water said Shouldham operated on a vacuum sewer system, which collected sewage from two or three properties in a single chamber before pumping it on to the main sewer network.

"They only have capacity to take foul sewage, and not rain or surface water," the statement read.

"However in the recent extreme weather, they have also been overwhelmed, and the water has infiltrated into the sewer network, reducing its capacity and leading to problems for some homeowners with flushing their loos."

The company said it was in talks with Norfolk County Council, which is responsible for the local road network.

The county council said it was aware of the problems in Shouldham and was clearing drains which had become clogged with silt.

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