Residents next to giant sewage pipe 'are woken by sound of human waste being flushed away'

Residents living next to a huge sewage pipe which was built outside their front doors say they are being woken up by the sound of human waste being flushed away.

It was installed on Bovis Homes’ Wendelburie Rise development in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, last November while Anglian Water fixed an underground pipe.

Locals were unhappy about the pipe's appearance and were given food hampers from the water company as an apology for the inconvenience.

But now some say as well as being an eyesore, they are also being kept awake by human waste being flushed through it.

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Resident Tim Buckley, 31, said: “It’s not so bad in the day time because all the building work drowns out the noise from the pipe but at night it’s pretty loud.

“You can hear the water and waste being flushed around in the pipe. It is not a particularly pleasant thing to have to listen to when you're trying to relax in the evening.

Another local added: “My wife’s a light sleeper and she’s often woken up by the noises coming from the pipes.

“It’d be nice not be woken by the sounds of human effluent rushing past your front door.”

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Another resident said: “It’s ridiculous to have to live like this. It makes me queasy thinking of all the poo floating past my front door.

“It was bad enough when we were told it would be in place until March but now we’re looking at the pavement poo pipe being there until the summer.

“It doesn’t smell now because it’s winter but what happens if there’s another heatwave? It’ll be unbearable.”

The temporary pipe stretches across the new Stanton Cross development in the market town of Wellingborough.

Dubbed an “incredible engineering feat” by Anglian Water – it replaced one that carries debris from people’s homes to the nearest pumping station.

The pipe was built in November and is understood to be staying until at least the end of March as engineers try and find the source of a leak in the underground sewage network.

Anglian Water said it accepts the pipe has changed the look of the estate but it is temporary.

It added repairing the underground pipe is a “complex” operation but they are confident the repairs will be completed by the end of next month.

A spokesperson said: “We’ve been in close contact with all local residents throughout, and know this work has been hugely disruptive for them – we’re sorry for this.

“We’d like to thank them for their ongoing patience and understanding - keeping their facilities running and protecting the environment is our top priority.

“They can rest assured that we’ll keep working with them and Bovis Homes until the repair is completed and things are back to normal.”