Ref. 71777-21HOMEOWNERS whose gardens were flooded with raw sewage are still waiting for the waste to be cleared up.

Eric Halliday and Pat Johnson, of Grange Drive, had to endure six inches of dirty water after a public sewer became blocked.

They called Thames Water repeatedly and engineers attended over the weekend and on Monday the pipes were unblocked.

But they are still waiting for Thames Water to clear sludge from their gardens four days after the drain first overflowed.

Pat, 62, whose property is worst affected, said: "It's disgusting. I have scrubbed my patio clean but the manholes haven't been drained.

"It really needs to be sucked up and disposed of. I am really annoyed it has taken so long to clear up. It is a matter of health and safety too.

"I've not been able to open my back door or go anywhere because I have to wait for the people from Thames Water who keep saying they are coming but don't turn up."

Eric, who lives next door, says that he wants a long-term solution to the problem because the public sewer becomes blocked every four months.

He said: "It's like we are going around in circles. They said they unblocked it on Saturday but they didn't."

Thames Water spokesman Chris Shipway said: "We definitely cleared more than one blockage on Saturday.

"Sometimes with severe blockages, the drain may become blocked up again and that's what may have happened.

"With the clean up, when the overflow is outside the property, it is sometimes best to leave the area for a couple days until the groundwater subsides before removing the solid waste.

"But customers sometimes don't want that and we didn't clean up as quickly as we were asked to. We would like to apologise for that.

"There is nothing to indicate there is a problem with the pipe but the blockages are caused by things that are not supposed to be thrown in toilets."

A camera is to be sent down to make sure the sewer is emptying properly, and there will also be a leaflet campaign in the near future urging residents in the area to "bag it and bin it".

Drain blockages often occurred when nappies, air fresheners and sanitary towels are flushed down the toilet.

Bhavani Vadde