Residents wading through sewage after plant leak

Gardens in Lee Street in Horley were flooded

Residents' gardens have been left flooded after a pump issue at a sewage treatment works, raising concerns about potential contaminated water around their homes.

Water flooded Lee Street in Horley on Wednesday, leaving one resident saying he had to "wade through" metres of water to leave his property.

Steve Pelham, who has lived in his house for six years, said it was not the first time his garden had flooded after similar incident in 2019.

A Thames Water spokesperson has apologised to those impacted by a hydraulic pump issue at its Horley sewage treatment works.

Thames Water has apologised to residents affected by the pump issue at its sewage treatment works

"It is not nice as all our possessions that have been flooded have to be thrown away," Mr Pelham told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Steve Wotton, a Horley West and Sidlow councillor, claimed water tests he carried out "strongly indicated" the presence of sewage.

Along with Chris Coghlan, the Lib Dem MP for Dorking and Horley, Mr Wotton has been campaigning for an upgrade to the sewage treatment works.

The Thames Water spokesperson said the pump had been fixed and teams were engaging with local residents to clean up the area.

They said: "We have clear and deliverable plans to upgrade 250 of our sites across the region, to increase treatment capacity and reduce the number of storm discharges.

"This includes our site at Horley."

They said: "As infrastructure ages and demand on it increases, more investment is needed across the entire sector.

"That’s why we’ve asked for increased investment in the next regulatory cycle between 2025-2030."

In October, Thames Water secured a loan of up to £3bn following fears that it could run out of funding by Christmas.