Alternative to giant sewage pipe 'far worse'

Anglian Water said had it not built a giant above-ground sewage pipe on a new housing estate "the alternative would be far worse".

The almost 800m-long (2,625ft) structure was installed in December at the Stanton Cross development in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

Hairline fractures were found in the original pipe and Anglian Water said an above-ground alternative was the only option.

Regan Harris, from the company, said there could have been a "catastrophic failure of a big sewer pipe".

It is hoped the temporary sewage pipe will be removed by the end of March

The pipe was constructed in nine days to allow Anglian Water to carry out repairs to the one underground.

"The alternative to [the above-ground pipe] would be far worse," Ms Harris said.

She said had it not been installed it would have led to "not only people not being able to flush their loos and use their washing machines and things like that, but ultimately would have been a pollution to the environment".

"It is not ideal, it is fairly intrusive and nobody wants to look out of the kitchen window and see this, necessarily, but I think we can all also agree that the alternative is worse," she added.

Anglian Water's Regan Harris said the technology used to monitor pipes found the fractures

To avoid having to dig up and replace the old pipe, Anglian Water was inserting a lining - pulling it through the existing pipe to create a new pipe within the old one.

Just over half of the pipe has now been relined and the company said it was confident this work would be finished by the end of March.

Anglian Water has been carrying out repairs to the underground pipe in Wellingborough