YOUNG children in Bromsgrove are being forced to walk daily through a river of raw sewage.

A river of human waste is pouring from a manhole cover on a housing estate in Cofton Fields in Cofton Hackett.

A burst sewer pipe has been leaking human faeces across the entrance to the estate in front of people's homes since January 21.

Residents have had to put up with the smell and the health risk, despite repeated attempts to resolve the issue.

Not only that, children have to walk through it on their way to school, and cars drive through it splashing it onto the brand new village hall.

Cllr Mike Pattison, who lives on the estate and has made numerous attempts to resolve the issue, said the smell is "horrendous".

Bromsgrove Advertiser:

"Severn Trent, who attended the site on Groveley Lane, reported that there was a burst sewerage pipe, but that they could not repair the damage because the sewer was unadopted and therefore the responsibility of the developer," he said

"St Modwen claim that the sewer is not their responsibility and that Persimmon should undertake the repair.

"On the advice of St Modwen, who passed the buck, concerned residents contacted Persimmon, who so far have refused to return phone calls or email contact."

The exasperated cllr said Severn Trent did come out and fix the problem - but only for a short time before the waste started to flow again, even faster.

"The real issue is no one seems to be taking responsibility for this," added cllr Pattison.

"The developers are ignoring the needs and the health of residents and leaving them high, but not at all dry, in trying to get something done.

"It's not good enough."

The Advertiser has approached both St Modwen and Persimmon for comment.

The paper was told that Severn Trent had gone out to the site, again, today.

A spokesman from Severn Trent said: "Our engineers have been out to investigate reports of wastewater escaping from a manhole cover on Groveley Lane on a number of occasions. Each time, we've found no issues on our network, suggesting the cause is on private pipes. 

"However, as a gesture of good will, we've provided support to unblock these pipes, to help return the road back to normal."