Anger in Lancing as sewage burst floods road again

Residents in West Sussex are calling for urgent action after their road was flooded with sewage when a pipe burst for the third time in two years.

Geoff Patmore said the latest burst in West Way, Lancing, left a 4in (10cm) deep sewage puddle which covered the width of the road.

"The smell was horrendous - it is unacceptable that we have had three major sewage bursts," he said.

Southern Water apologised and said it would investigate the cause.

'Repair hampered'

"There is something terribly wrong with the sewage pipes in this road and they need replacing with stronger, more modern pipes," said Mr Patmore.

Southern Water's waste water manager, Jim MacIntyre, said the pipe which burst on Thursday was not particularly old.

"The nature of the road construction has hampered the speed of the repair, and we have had to bring in specialist equipment," he said.

"We will make every effort to understand why this incident happened and to avoid it happening in the future.

"We will be looking at whether it is the ground conditions, a joint or the nature of the pipe."