Residents on an exclusive housing estate have been dumped by their developers after they forgot to connect them to a sewage system.

Plush Oakland Lodge is reeking of effluents rather than affluence because a "poo waggon" drives through the development four times a day to carry off toilet waste.

The exclusive Darlington houses, which are for sale for around £100,000, are described by the developer Persimmon Homes as "quality family homes".

But angry Linda Noble, 37, who moved to the up-market estate in May, said she was never told by the developer that her home was not connected to the main sewage system in the town.

She said: "The smell is disgusting. We have to put up with the poo waggon driving around our homes up to four times a day.

"We were never told that we were not connected to the main system and there is a constant putrid smell. "If I had known about the problem there is no way I would have signed on the dotted line, I just wouldn't have moved in."

The mother-of-four and her husband Chris, 38, moved to Heartington Way on the estate seven months ago with their children Rebecca, 10, Michael, eight, Katie, two and eight-week-old Megan.

The family bought the four-bedroom detached property for £105,000 and were delighted when they first moved in. But it was early one Sunday morning when the house was woken by the disgusting smell and noise of the waste truck.

Linda added: "It was seven o'clock in the morning when the sewage truck started pumping out the waste on our doorstep.

"The smell was overwhelming and I had to run around the house closing the windows.

"I have four children and when we hear the truck coming I bring them in the house and stop them playing in the garden. We don't know what they could catch. It is a horrible situation to be in."

Jeff Fairburn, managing director of Persimmon Homes said: "We have every sympathy for residents, unfortunately, this matter has been very much out of our control.

"The problem affects owners on the final phase of the development, who began moving in November 2000.

"Their connection to the main sewer has to go across local authority land and we have been diligently seeking permission from them for the work to be carried out. "The good news for everyone is that planning has been granted and work will commence shortly."