FAMILIES are claiming children and pets have fallen ill after foul water started seeping from drains in a Colchester street.

Householders in Maryborough Grove, Berechurch, say waste leaking from their drains is putting their health at risk.

Dirty water is coming up through drains in several gardens, but residents have been told they must pay a private company hundreds of pounds to clear the drains because they are not adopted by the water board.

Residents said water from household appliances is not draining away properly, compounding the issue.

Bob Fenner, 63, semi-retired, of Maryborough Grove, said: “The smell is terrible. I can’t use the toilet properly or have a shower. We daren’t use the washing machine.

“What we are so mad about is it’s not our fault, but we are the ones suffering.”

Residents say Anglian Water has refused to fix the problem, while environmental health officers at Colchester Council say they cannot step in.

Neighbour David Jones, 55, said: “The grandchildren have gone down with diarrhoea and sickness and my daughter is feeling unwell.

“The animals are all ill and I believe it’s all caused by this, as the water is backing up through our downstairs shower.”

Mr Fenner added: “We have had our drains checked and they are clear. The problem, we think, is due to a blockage up the road.

“We could pay out hundreds of pounds and it will make no difference, or it could just happen again and again.”

He continued: “We have had problems before, but nothing like this.

“We had to go out at the weekend to escape it, as it was horrendous.

“I have had headaches, and I have been going to town to use the toilet.”

Ward councillor Dave Harris said the developer which built the homes in the Seventies went under almost as soon as the houses were completed, meaning the drains were never brought up to scratch. He said: “I’m advising householders to work together and get it done themselves as soon as possible.”

An Anglian Water spokesman said: “It is for a developer to make sure sewers serving the homes they build are of an appropriate standard. Moreover, it is a developer’s choice whether or not to ask the local water company to adopt any new sewers into their network.

“In the case of Maryborough Grove, the sewers have not been offered to Anglian Water so their maintenance remains the responsibility of the residents.”

Karen Newman, environmental services manager at Colchester Council said it was aware of the problem.

She added: “We are trying to establish who owns the drain and who is responsible for clearing it.

“We accept a discharging sewer is most definitely an environmental health issue, and officers will visit today to assess it.”