Surrey sewage spills causing public health menace, says parish council

Sewage leaks on an Alfold cricket pitch have been described as "embarrassing" and "very pungent"

Sewage leaks are causing a "public health menace" in Surrey, a council has said, with six spillages on public playing fields recorded since October.

Alfold Parish Council said raw sewage had "spewed up" onto a cricket pitch following recent storms.

It comes as Surrey County Council (SCC) issued public health advice following recent flooding.

Thames Water apologised to those impacted and said clean ups of affected areas had been arranged.

Ed McCudden, vice chair of the parish council, said the pitch had been subject to flooding for about three months.

"When we have these big torrential rain pours... we have raw sewage spewing up and boiling onto the cricket pitch, which makes [it] unusable for dog walkers," he told BBC Radio Surrey.

"It's really unpleasant and it's a public health menace."

He said the parish council had recorded six spillages of raw sewage at the "very pungent" site since October, with the most recent on 2 January.

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Mr McCudden said the Environment Agency had recently sprayed the ground with disinfectant, but it took around five days to break down the sewage.

SCC has issued guidance on the potential risks of floodwater.

Hundreds of residents were evacuated from their homes in Addlestone and Chertsey last week after Storm Henk led to heavy rain and flooding.

Roads, homes and businesses were flooded in Surrey in recent weeks

Although the water has subsided, SCC's director of public health warned "ongoing health risks" remained, including "contaminants" from sewage.

This could lead to skin or gut infections through contact, she explained.

A spokesperson for Thames Water said: "The recent heavy rainfall following Storm Henk, along with high groundwater levels and localised river flooding, caused our sewer system to overload.

"We are sorry to residents for any distress the flooding may have caused and would like to assure them clean ups of the affected areas are being arranged over the coming days as water levels recede."

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