Lancing sewage leak: Southern Water apologises after another sewage leak

A water company said it is "extremely sorry" after a beachfront estate had its fourth sewage leak in eight weeks.

Southern Water is carrying out repairs in Lancing, West Sussex, after a pipe burst on Wednesday evening.

Pipes in the West Beach estate area have burst multiple times over the past two months, and the water company conceded there were "ongoing issues".

Some residents are now refusing to pay their water bills until the problem is fully fixed.

Nigel Sweet, who is among residents planning a bill protest, said the roads have filled up with a "brown, trickling mess" of sewage, and the smell is "appalling".

"I'm getting pretty fed up, like most people here," he said.

"We're meant to be looking forward to Christmas Day, but instead we've got Groundhog Day. Southern Water still hasn't done its job," he added.

Mr Sweet said there has been at least four leaks in eight weeks and people were living "in fear" of it happening again.

He said the leaks had created traffic problems, and that some people were being kept awake with the sound of the pumping all through the night. He also said the sewage had gone into people's homes.

Southern Water said it had stopped the water flow ahead of the repairs.

Tankers are being used to manage the wastewater so that local people can use services as normal.

A spokesman said the company was "extremely sorry for the inconvenience".

He added: "We fully understand the frustration this is causing people, as this same length of pipe has been the subject of ongoing issues in the past couple of months.

"Recent work has been undertaken to line parts of the main to try and prevent future bursts, but we will revisit this work as a matter of priority to evaluate what more can be done."

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