Man's anger as Lancing sewage pipes burst again

“A fountain of sewage” caused havoc in West Way, Lancing, in July, just one of many pipe bursts to hit the area in the last year.

And following yet another burst in West Way on Saturday, one man said enough is enough, and he is seriously thinking about selling his beloved home.

“I’m strongly considering moving away from the area,” said Nigel Sweet, of The Broadway - a short distance from Saturday’s explosion.

“But who’s going to buy these properties?

The sewage burst in The Broadway in July (Image: The Argus)

“It’s a lovely area to live in but it’s ruined by this. It’s a building site now. There’s sewage tanker lorries rumbling around the roads and clogging them up 24 hours, workmen shouting and playing music on their radios.

“People here are quite literally paddling through sewage to leave their homes.

“You don’t know if you’re going to come back and it’s gone into your garden or your house.”

Nigel, who is currently on holiday in Mallorca, was seething when he heard the pipes that run under the road had burst yet again.

Along with some of his neighbours, he has not paid the water bill in nearly a year.

“We’ve refused to pay it since Christmas Eve,” he said.

“They only care about the profits.

“What we are asking for isn’t unreasonable. It’s not too much to ask. We just want functioning sewage pipe that don’t burst.”

Photo: Eddie Mitchell (Image: Eddie Mitchell)

Others feel similarly to Nigel, as houses either side of him are up for sale.

“It’s very dispiriting,” he said.

“It makes you feel the whole area is going downhill, and people don’t want to visit the area either.

A spokesman for Southern Water has previously said that work was being done to improve the water mains in the area and that the project was weeks away from completion.

In a statement, a Southern Water spokesman apologised, saying: "Our priority is now to stop the spill by using tankers to take on the flow of wastewater.

“The tankers carry out crucial work meaning that many nearby homes can continue to use their kitchens and bathrooms as normal. Once they are in place the pumping stations serving the pipe can be switched off and we will start clearing up."