By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
Cheltenham residents have had to put up with “walkways covered in s**t and urine” for days due to blocked sewers.
People living in Benhall House in Gloucester Road say their toilets were “blocked to high heaven” and the issue was causing a health hazard.
Cheltenham Borough Homes say they have now fixed the issue which they believe was caused by materials being flushed down the toilets.
David Woodward, 49, one of the affected residents in the block of eight flats, said the smell is awful.
“All our drains are blocked with sewage and it is putting children at risk,” he said. “People can’t go about their day to day routine because everything in the walkway is covered in s**t and urine.
“I’ve constantly reported this for about five days now. The problem I seem to be facing is Cheltenham Borough Homes own the drains around the block of eight properties.
“And I know that there’s a main drain that runs out parallel to this block of flats which belongs to Severn Trent.
“At the end of the day I’m not interested in who owns what. It needs to be unblocked because it’s a health hazard and has been blocked for days. And the toilets are blocked.
“It’s an absolute disgrace. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s blocked to high heaven.
“The end flat has got young children and a new born on the way, a child under three months. They go out the back door and are subjected to urine and poo. He can’t put the bin bags out. He cannot do anything.”
Paul Leo, interim housing transformation director at Cheltenham Borough Homes, said they have been working closely with their tenants and have fixed the problem.
“We’ve been working closely with our tenants and contractors to resolve this unfortunate and disruptive issue and we’re pleased that all drains are now running clear and freely,” he said.
“We’re grateful for everyone’s patience and cooperation throughout this uncomfortable process.
“Unfortunately, the cause of the issue is believed to be materials being flushed down the toilets, which is leading to ongoing blockages, and we’d encourage all tenants to be mindful of what they dispose of in the drains to prevent further disruptions.
“If anyone has any issues, we’d like them to report this directly to us so that we can ensure there as addressed as quickly as possible.
“This should be done via the My CBH Portal, by telephone on 0800 408 0000 or email housing@cbh.org.”
Severn Trent say they have checked the public sewer system and say everything is operating as it should.
They said the issue at Benhall House is a private issue which needs to be handled by the property owner.
Daniel Hicks, Waste Team Manager at Severn Trent, said: “We understand how distressing any kind of flooding is, which is why our teams have been to this address on several occasions to investigate.
“Each time they have found that the issues have been due to blockages caused by sewer misuse, and on a private part of the network.
“We have checked the public sewer system we are responsible for and have confirmed everything is operating as it should, so this is a private issue which will need to be handled by the property owner.”