CHILDREN as young as five have been playing next to a rotting sewer spilling out used condoms and sanitary towels for almost two years.

Angry homeowners have been at loggerheads with Tandridge District Council since 2008 over a foul-smelling drain on their doorstep.

WHAT A STINK: Carol Tapp and daughter Lindsey Smith alongside the condom riddled sewer with Lilly Smith and Alfie Evans
Used sanitary towels and condoms were seen in the drain when the Mirror visited this week.

Recent heavy rain bought the situation to a head, with raw sewage spilling out onto Pollards Oak Road, Hurst Green.

Lindsey Smith, 39, whose mother lives across from the drain and where her five-year-old son Alfie Evans plays, contacted the Mirror after she caught her puppy running around with a used condom in its mouth last week.

"It's disgusting. We have been dealing with this for so long now and nobody has taken responsibility for it.

"My mother is in council housing and you would have thought they would have done more to make sure their residents are being looked after. We have been on at Tandridge District Council for so long.

"It smells revolting all year round and last week I had to physically remove an old condom from my dog's mouth after I caught him playing with it."

Tandridge District Council, Surrey Highways, Southern Water and the Environment Agency took more than two years to establish what the problem was, while the drain lay waiting as a potential health hazard to dozens of Hurst Green residents.

Eventually they discovered waste pipes in two properties had been connected to the road drain rather than the public sewer, meaning human waste was flooding out on to the road whenever there was heavy rain.

However, after the Mirror intervened this week, the council revealed they will start work on fixing the problem early next week – ending the residents' 24-month misery.

A TDC spokeswoman said: "The reason it took a while to work out where the sewerage was coming from was that it only happened when it rained heavily.

"We are aware of the issues with sewerage in Pollards Oak Road and have been working with Surrey Highways, Southern Water and the Environment Agency to discover the cause and resolve the problem.

"This took some time as it was not clear where the sewerage was coming from. Our joint investigations revealed waste pipes in two new properties had been connected to the road drain, rather than the public sewer. The waste was coming out further down the road.

"Once this was discovered, we approached the home owners to ask them to resolve the problem.

"In turn, they contacted Anwick Homes, which built the houses. Anwick Homes has now agreed to put things right and is starting work on Tuesday 31, August."