Wallsend downpour floods dead rats, faeces and nappies from drains

Dead rats, sewage and dirty nappies have been left scattered across a residential road after heavy rain caused drains to overflow.

People living on West Farm Road in Wallsend, North Tyneside, said they were worried their health was at risk after Monday's severe weather.

Resident Kelly Kerr said it happened every time there was a downpour.

Northumbrian Water apologised and thanked residents "for bringing the issue to our attention".

"The drains are not cleaned, there's nowhere for the water to go," Ms Kerr said.

"There was dead rats, there was faeces, there was dirty nappies."

Residents say this happens every time there is a downpour

Northumbria Water said the majority of the sewer network took both foul water and surface water.

"Bouts of heavy rain - particularly when they come suddenly - can cause some of the combined sewers to overfill," a spokesperson said.

Ms Kerr said only a small section of the mess had been cleaned up on Tuesday morning and the rest was "littered down the main street".

"And all the drains are still blocked," she said.

Northumbrian Water said it had sent a crew on Monday night to "clear the immediate area of the flooding" and another on Tuesday to "cleanse the roadside gullies".

A spokesman added that it would investigate whether underlying issues - such as flushed items, like nappies, or a build-up of fats or pipe defects - might have played a part.

Following on from this, it would take "any steps needed to help avoid this from happening in the future."