No cash compensation over summer sewage stench

The smell affected part of Camberley throughout the summer

People in Surrey who put up with a summer of smells have been told they will not receive any compensation.

In July health officers from Surrey Heath Borough Council found a tank of untreated sewage was the reason for the strong stench in Riverside Way, Camberley.

Thames Water said it had rectified the problem, and offered a staff volunteering day to support a local project.

But the council has called for money to be given to such a project instead.

Resident Thomas George compared the odour to the smell created when farmers spray fields with manure.

"It's like having that smell around your home all the time," he told BBC Radio Surrey, "the summer's gone and we spent it all locked up with our windows closed."

The council has now passed a motion calling for Thames Water to make a financial compensation to a local project.

Local councillor Lisa Finan-Cooke said the offer of a staff volunteering day by Thames Water "really isn't sufficient"

Lisa Finan-Cooke, a local councillor, said: "People are furious. They're really angry they've lost their summer.

"A day's volunteering really isn't sufficient to compensate the community for the hardship they've had over the summer months."

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We’d like to thank local residents for their patience whilst we resolved odour issues at Camberley sewage treatment works, which was completed in September.

“We are sorry to customers who were impacted by this over the summer months. We want to give back to the local community and have offered a staff volunteering day to support a local project.”