Raw sewage flooded a street after storm waters overwhelmed a pumping station.

The stinking torrent lapped at people's doorsteps but neighbours managed to save their homes from the deluge by putting down sandbags when the clouds burst during a thunderstorm. It is the latest flood to swamp Brooklyn Road in Seaford, where a nearby pumping station is failing to protect people from heavy downpours.

Sandbags are being given to neighbours while Southern Water comes up with a plan to stop the street getting swamped.

But neighbours say they are sick of having to mop up the mess each time the rain is too heavy for the pumping station to cope.

They blame breakdowns at the pumping station for leaving their homes vulnerable to floods, which dredge up sewage from the drains and threaten to ruin their homes.

Dozens of gardens were swamped during the latest thunderstorm, which left the street ankle-deep in the murky water and seeped through the doors of some cars.

Neighbours said they woke up at 5am yesterday to find their pathways flooded, with sewage lapping at their front doors.

Others had to pick up sandbags at the Southern Water pumping station to protect their homes from the mess.

Many complained the floods had become a regular occurrence during the past few years.

Paula Guest, of Brooklyn Road, said: "We've had enough of it. It's happened time and time again and every time Southern Water says it will never happen again."

Most homes at the bottom of the quiet street said they left sandbags at the end of their pathways all year round.

Homeowner Kathy Ward: "This was the first time we were able to use the sandbags.

"I spent 18 months persuading Southern Water to store them in its yard and let me be a keyholder so we could do something to protect our homes."

But water still flooded Johnsons Glass factory.

Ben Lancaster, one of the owners, said: "It seems to happen every year during the first heavy storm. The station can't cope because it's not used to dealing with so much water and we get flooded."

Sanitisation equipment was brought in to clean up the street yesterday afternoon but dark sludge still littered the road and the smell of waste hung in the air.

A Southern Water spokeswoman said the cause of the flood had not yet been determined.