Worksop pensioner ‘scared stiff’ she will catch coronavirus from sewage leak

A Worksop pensioner with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) says she is ‘scared stiff’ she will catch coronavirus due to sewage overflowing from drains outside her home.
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Stella Megson, 63, of Furnival Street, has told how faeces and toilet paper has been gurgling back out of a drain next to her front door and along the street for the past year.

Photos show the foul excrement coming out of the drain near her home - leaving a crust of toilet paper mixed with faeces.

Mum-of-three Stella, who is currently self-isolating due to respiratory problems associated with COPD, fears she is ‘going to die’ due to infection from the disgusting human waste.

Worksop resident Stella Megson - whose drain is over flowing with sewageWorksop resident Stella Megson - whose drain is over flowing with sewage
Worksop resident Stella Megson - whose drain is over flowing with sewage

Grandmother-of-five Stella said the problem began about a year ago when two houses next door to her semi-detached council house were knocked down.

Around a month after the demolition, sewage started bubbling up out of drains along the street.

Stella believes heavy machinery may have crushed the pipes underground while the works were ongoing.

Tearful Stella said: “It’s horrible - I can’t go into my back garden because when it gets warmer it smells.

The foul excrement near bins next to Stella's homeThe foul excrement near bins next to Stella's home
The foul excrement near bins next to Stella's home

“We don’t know what we’re going to catch - I don’t want to die.

“I’m so frightened of getting the virus - how are we supposed to live like this?”

Stella, whose husband John, 61, also suffers with COPD, said workmen had been out to the street between four and five times during the last year to try and fix the drains but had been unsuccessful.

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Stella fears she will catch coronavirus from the human wasteStella fears she will catch coronavirus from the human waste
Stella fears she will catch coronavirus from the human waste

She said: “The council should be sorting it out - when I phoned up to complain they told me to flush the toilet twice.”

Alison Craig, Head of Housing at Bassetlaw District Council, apologised to Stella but moved to reassure her they were trying to find a long-term solution.

She said: “Since the neighbouring properties were demolished we have repaired any damaged pipework associated with Mrs Megson’s home.

“We have instructed a private contractor to clear Mrs Megson’s drains on a number of occasions over the last 12 months however we were not made aware of this latest blockage until the Guardian approached us.

“We advise all tenants to report emergency repairs such as this to us immediately.

“The waste backing up in the drain is solely from Mrs Megson’s home and to avoid any risk to health we advise that household members do not go near the waste should it back up again.

“The problem is being caused by a shallow fall between the waste pipe from Mrs Megson’s home to the main sewer drain and in order to prevent further blockages we have advised Mrs Megson to regularly flush the toilet with fresh water so that any waste does not become lodged and cause the drain to back up.

“We have also advised Mrs Megson not to flush items that may cause a blockage, for example toilet wet wipes.

“We also advise all tenants not to flush items such as wipes, kitchen roll or nappies in order to prevent blockages.”