FAMILIES can finally breathe a sigh of relief after Anglian Water agreed to invest £350,000 to get rid of the stink in their neighbourhood.

People living in Woodham Park Drive, Benfleet, near Richmond Park playing fields are thrilled the water company have agreed to upgrade the sewer system to stop the frequent spilling of sewage into ditches in the park.

Locals have been complaining about the smell coming from the nearby field for more than five years, so Castle Point Tory MP Rebecca Harris met bosses at the water company who agreed to pay for the improvements.

Mrs Harris said: “I made it clear to the managing director of Anglian Water the odour was seriously damaging the quality of life of a whole neighbourhood and was simply unacceptable.

“I am glad Anglian Water is undertaking a comprehensive plan of works to solve the problem for residents once and for all and agreed to take measures to limit the affect of the odour until the works are completed.”

Nicky Yetton, 30, of Woodham Park Drive got more than 200 signatures for a petition, urging the water company to take action: She said: “I am thankful for Anglian Water for finally taking the problem seriously.

“Now it’s just a case of ensuring they deliver.

“I am really looking forward to being able to enjoy relaxing in my garden again next summer.”

St Mary’s ward councillor Andrew Sheldon has campaigned for Anglian Water to sort out the stench since last year. He said: “Over the past year residents have come to me sometimes in tears saying they have been unable to sleep in their own homes the smell has been so bad.”

Anglian water hopes to complete improvements to the sewage works by the end of the year.

Spokesman John Clare says two problems which have lead to the system upgrade has been caused by rain water which has gone into the storm tanks and caused them to overflow and spill out into Richmond Park.

Smells from the sewage works have also been caused by the roofing on the sludge tanks which collapsed under the weight of snow during cold weather about two years ago.

Mr Clare said: “Both these issues are being addressed through a £350,000 programme of investment aimed at improving and upgrading our infrastructure in the area.

“One of these roofs has already been replaced and another will be installed in the next few months.

“We are upgrading the pumps that serve the site’s storm tanks, allowing us to empty these faster and reduce the chance of sewage building up building up and starting to smell.”

The improvement work will include fitting a deodorising unit at Benfleet sewage works