Flooding: Totton sewage pumping station overwhelmed

Ringwood Road and Commercial in Totton flooded following heavy rain on Tuesday

Flash flooding caused a spill of sewage on to roads and car parks, Southern Water has said.

A heavy downpour flooded homes and blocked roads in Totton, Hampshire, from about 12:00 BST on Tuesday.

Southern Water said it had caused the pumping station in Commercial Road to become "overwhelmed" and led to a discharge.

It came after a yellow warning was issued for thunderstorms in England and Wales.

The water had cleared by about 14:00

A Southern Water statement said: "We discovered that due to intense rainfall on dry ground, the site had become overwhelmed and suffered technical difficulties.

"This led to a spill which had affected a nearby car park and roads. Specialist teams were sent to investigate, and begin a clean-up.

"We would like to apologise to nearby residents, businesses and road users for this incident, and are working hard to establish the full circumstances to prevent a repeat."

The flooding followed heavy rainfall which came after weeks of hot, dry weather.

Glenn McDermott, who was caught in flash flooding on Ringwood Road, said the rain had been "very heavy" at about 12:00.

"The problem was it didn't let up for a good 20 minutes, and I think the ground is so dry, it wasn't soaking into the ground as it normally would so caused flooding very quickly," he said.

It comes as pollution warnings are in place for beaches along the south coast of England after untreated sewage was discharged into the sea following the period of heavy rain on Tuesday.

Southern Water said "Storm releases were made to protect homes, schools and businesses from flooding. The release is 95-97% rainwater and so should not be described as raw sewage."