RESIDENTS are complaining that a sewerage works near their homes cannot cope with the number of people who live in the village.

According to the parish council the increase in the number of houses in Middleton St George means the nearby sewerage works has become overloaded.

Northumbrian Water, which owns the sewerage works, has been asked to make improvements.

Coun Doris Jones said: "There are a lot of developers coming into the village.

"Each of these developers has to pay Northumbrian Water who have to put the sewers in and also deal with the waste.

"But all the waste is going to the same treatment works and at times it is overflowing into fields.

"We have been told in the past the overflow is because of flooding but it can't be that at the moment.

"It is so unpleasant for people living there and the smell really is terrible."

Coun Jones said she had told Northumbrian Water that the situation was an emergency and needed priority attention.

A spokeswoman for the company said there were long-term plans to look at the sewage work.

She said: "At the moment, the works meet the current performance standards set by the Environment Agency.

"There are going to be a number of new standards which we will have to meet by March 2005.

"At the moment we are in the early planning stages for that change and we will be reviewing development plans."