A PARISH councillor says he has "reached the end of his tether" over raw sewage flooding a village centre whenever there is a heavy downpour.

William Nixon, of Melsonby, says he has reported the incidents numerous times to the relevant authorities over the past few years but says his complaints have fallen on deaf ears.

He explained how the central village sewerage system in Melsonby overflows during heavy rainfall, with manhole covers lifting up to expel excrement and other toilet detritus along East and West Road.

Mr Nixon said each time it happens, Northumbrian Water workers power-wash the sewage onto the village green and into a River Tees tributary stream that runs across it, causing an environmental health hazard.

After the most recent episode on Wednesday last week, Mr Nixon said it was time to publicly demand action from the authorities to stop it happening again.

He said: "We have got raw sewage coming out, we have got a pollution problem because obviously they come and power jet all the excrement into a watercourse which then goes onto the village green where all the kids play.

"Who is going to keep those kids off the village green?

"They seem to think it's fine if a kid gets a disease from playing on there – nobody is accountable but I have got to the stage where I am not having it anymore."

Mr Nixon says the problem has been occurring for at least a decade and blames an ageing sewerage system that has become increasingly overburdened by new developments in the village.

He said: "Over the years they have added more and more houses and there has just been an application to put another 40 houses in and the infrastructure can't take it.

"We feel that nobody is listening and they (the authorities) seem to think it's okay."

Mr Nixon added: "If it had happened in Richmond or Northallerton there would be absolutely high hell on, but because it is in Melsonby, it doesn't matter."

Almost a week after the latest overflow incident, sewer waste including toilet roll and wipes still littered the street and Mr Nixon said he and other residents have "had enough".

A Northumbrian Water spokesperson told the D&S Times that the firm does plan to investigate the cause of the overflow in a bid to prevent further incidents.

He said: “We were called out to a report of an overflowing manhole in Melsonby last week after a bout of heavy rainfall.

“Our technicians attended and thoroughly cleaned up the area around the manhole.

"We have arranged for a CCTV inspection of the sewer network to be carried out as soon as possible to understand the root cause to avoid this happening again.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank residents for their patience.”

Jayne Charlton, area highways manager for North Yorkshire County Council, added: “We have had a report of flooding on East Road and as a result we inspected all the highway drainage, which was found to be working clear and free of any obstruction.

“We have spoken to the customer who reported the flooding and explained there was no issue with the highway drainage.

"We also advised the resident that the matter of waste pipes (sewage) is one for the water authority to address regardless of whether or not this is a ‘shared’ system.”

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