Thames Water criticised by MP Robert Courts over 'appalling' sewage floods

Robert Courts has been the MP for Witney in Oxfordshire since 2016

An MP has insisted Thames Water "must do more" to help customers affected by flooding and raw sewage.

Robert Courts, the MP for Witney in Oxfordshire, described the situation affecting his constituents as "absolutely appalling", "awful" and "frankly unacceptable".

Customers across the county have complained about sewer flooding caused by recent heavy rain.

The company said it was "working hard" to support those affected.

Islip, Chinnor, Sutton, Standlake and Tackley are among the areas in which people have contacted the BBC about raw sewage and floodwater in their homes and gardens.

Customers across the county have complained about sewer flooding caused by heavy rain

Mr Courts said it was clear the system was vulnerable to extreme weather.

"Thames Water have just got to step up and resolve this," he said.

"I've had numerous meetings with them... they'll say that they've been doing work in the area monitoring the system.

"I'm sure that's true but the fact remains that's insufficient and they have to do more."

He said it needed to invest in "major upgrades" because it had been "going on for far too long and needs to stop".

'Higher workload'

Steve Grebby, of the Consumer Council for Water, described the situation as "one of the worst service failures a customer can experience".

However, John Howell, MP for Henley, said the firm had a plan of action in place.

"It's not fair to criticise Thames Water for not coming back on this. I had a meeting with them only recently to discuss the issues," he added.

Thames Water said it understood sewer flooding was "unpleasant and disruptive".

It added it was taking longer than normal to rectify "due to a higher than usual workload".

The company said it was investing £2m in Chinnor sewage works and installing sewer monitors to locate the places most affected by high flows of wastewater.