Sewer upgrades promised after 'disgusting' spills

Mary Lorimer said she was forced to collect sanitary products washed up on the banks of the River Sence

A water company has pledged to make improvements to sewers in a village in Leicestershire after residents complained of sewage spilling into the local river.

People living in Donington le Heath, near Coalville, have reported brown froth and bad smells in the River Sence, as well as sanitary products washing up on the bank.

They claimed sewage systems were overloaded after thousands of new houses were built nearby.

Severn Trent Water has apologised and said it will spend £12m upgrading the local system.

Mary Lorimer, who owns a patch of land next to the River Sence, said there was a "strong smell of sewage" when it rained.

"I get sanitary towels, condoms and wet wipes all suspended off the undergrowth on the side of the bank and I have to go along and collect it, and it's disgusting," she said.

Ms Lorimer said she had taken a bag of waste collected from the river to a meeting with Severn Trent Water in order to demonstrate the problem

"I come down here to get away from things, to enjoy nature, to see wildlife which I'm trying to encourage.

"To see it spoiled and desecrated with litter and rubbish and disgusting sewage, it makes you want to cry, it's horrible," she said.

Stephanie Cawley, director of operations at Severn Trent Water said: "We're investing £12m over the next five years to improve the pumping capability and the size of the sewer in the area, to account for all the new development and the extra volume that's going through the system.

"We know we are part of the problem here, absolutely. We've got new houses that have been built and the sewers weren't designed to be capable of taking those extra flows, so we know we've got work to do."

Residents have reported the River Sence turning a "sickly colour"

North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) said it consulted with Severn Trent Water when approving planning permission for the new housing.

"In the absence of objections from the water authorities on the basis that new housing development is causing pollution in the River Sence, there's no justifiable reason for NWLDC to withhold planning approval on those grounds.

"Any issues relating to sewage capacity and infrastructure are a matter for Severn Trent Water," a spokesperson said.

Ms Cawley said Severn Trent Water was not a statutory consultee in the planning process.

"We can't influence the decision, but we can absolutely do the modelling that says whether there is enough capacity and in some parts of the network there is, we've upgraded that already," she said.

Stephanie Cawley says she understood the residents' frustration

Local resident Steve Palmer, who first contacted the BBC about the issue last year, said he was still concerned about plans for more homes in the area.

"You sometimes walk over the bridges that go over the river and you have to hold your breath, and that's got gradually worse over the years.

"There are thousands of houses to be built which are going to rely on this sewage system, and if it's over capacity now, I really can't imagine what the result is," he said.

Parish councillor David Wood said the area was "overloaded" with new developments.

"We just haven't got the capacity to handle any more, and if you keep pouring developments in, the infrastructure is just not there," he said.

Ms Cawley said the sewer improvements will accommodate "future growth".

"I understand it's frustrating but it takes us 12 months to do all the right surveys to make sure we understand the volumes in the sewer at all points of year," she said.

Steve Palmer said conditions in the River Sence have worsened over the years

Amanda Hack, MP for North West Leicestershire, said the timeframe for the improvement work "certainly isn't good enough".

"Local people have had to deal with so many spills in their land or their back gardens and you can see it's not great for the environment either, so we want to push to get this done as quickly as possible," she said.

Ms Cawley said work had already started, with "storage in place which should start to make a difference" but added it was "really important we get this absolutely right".

A spokesperson for the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said legislation which came into effect in September 2024 created a new duty for water companies in England to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans.

"These plans will help sewerage companies to fully assess the capacity of the drainage and wastewater network and develop collaborative solutions to current problems and future issues, including ensuring sufficient infrastructure for growth," the spokesperson said.