A COUPLE want to kick up a stink about Anglia Water, claiming the firmhas failed to fix a sewage pipe for years.

Linda Blackburn and David Witt of Shaftesbury Avenue, in Southend, say problems began five years ago with raw sewage coming up through a manhole cover in their back garden.

The messy business seemed to have been resolved when last year, Anglian Water admitted it was a problem with one of its pipes.

But the couple claim it has still not been fixed and want it resolved quickly so they can move away from the area.

Miss Blackburn, 61, said: “It’s a living nightmare, Anglian Water will probably soon send out a bill for their service, but it’s like rubbing salt in the wound, because they don’t actually take our waste away.

“The pipe in our garden constantly has effluent in it and every four weeks or so it builds up, so they then have to come out and unblock it.

"We are trying to move to East Anglia and have sold the house, but it may well fall through if the pipe isn’t fixed.”

The couple are both out of work after Miss Blackburn was made redundant from health food chain Julian Graves, which went into administration, while Mr Whitt is also unemployed.

Anglian Water attempted to fix the pipe, which is damaged under a neighbour’s garden, but had difficulty gaining access to the property.

Miss Blackburn added: “This was over a year ago and it’s still not fixed, despite the fact they could have served an enforcement order on them to gain access.

“We have a couple ready to complete the sale and move in, but they won’t wait forever.”

Emma Staples, from Anglian Water, said: “We have already committed to replacing the sewer in Shaftesbury Avenue – that is not up for debate.

“However, we have had some difficulties gaining access to one property to complete the CCTV survey of the sewer that’s necessary before work can start.”