People living in a quiet street were horrified to wake up and discover sewage outside their front doors.

Now Southern Water has apologised to residents of St Giles Close in Shoreham who took photos of the horror that greeted them on Easter Sunday after a garage area outside their homes flooded with sewage.

The problem was caused by a blocked drain or manhole, but because of the bank holidays there was a delay clearing the mess.

On Monday Southern Water cleared the area. Pat Tough, 71, a widow, of St Giles Close, told The Argus: “It’s horrible.

“It started leaking three weeks ago and then there was very heavy rain over the weekend.

“On Sunday it flooded in the garage or ‘the lake’ as we now call it. Most people saw it and stayed away.”

She said her daughter, Alison Tough, 44, lived very near the area and it smelt. Mrs Tough said: ”I don’t blame Southern Water.

“They couldn’t have known this would happen. But it is horrible and we aren’t happy.”

Southern Water attended and set about fixing the error. But in the meantime, the incident prompted a discussion on a Shoreham Facebook page.

One user said: “[My neighbour’s] garden wall has shifted, and the water is bubbling up through the concrete.”

Another, Steven Edwards, branded it “absolutely disgusting”.

A Southern Water spokeswoman yesterday said: “This is an unpleasant situation and we’re sorry we didn’t respond as quickly as customers expected.

“We believe the problem was caused by a blocked or damaged sewer that caused a manhole to overflow.

“Contractors used a heavy jet spray to try and clear the sewer of any blockages on Monday and also carried out a |CCTV inspection of the pipe to check for defects.

“We are in the process of looking at this footage and will return to the area as soon as we can to carry out any further necessary work.”