A housing developer has apologised after “foul smelling” raw sewage spilled into a High Wycombe beauty spot.

Walkers who regularly visit Keep Hill Wood say that for the third time in six months, a stream of raw sewage has been running into the important woodland – and it was reportedly originating from the half-built Pine Trees development on Daws Hill Lane.

One Bucks Free Press reader told the paper they reported the leak in the Taylor Wimpey site office on Saturday, adding: “This is a health hazard. Clearly, the infrastructure is not adequate as it stands, and the Taylor Wimpey development is only half completed.”

He added that the leak is also close to the newly opened Abbey View Primary School, which is on the new development on Kennedy Avenue.

He said: “This is not acceptable. There was never any problems before the new development commenced.”

Another reader, who lives on the new development, added that the leak appeared to be coming from a compound near the site office.

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He said: “Despite reporting it several times over the last week directly to Taylor Wimpey site office the slight trickle of foul-smelling water is now a river running down the whole of the footpath leading from the Pine Trees estate into Dean Garden Woods.”

In June last year, walkers reported “awful smelling groundwater” coming from the direction of the old RAF site – and Thames Water said it was caused by a fatberg, made up of wet wipes and other unflushable items, which had blocked a drain.

Keep Hill Wood boasts an array of wildlife, including at least two badger setts, Chiltern speciality, the nationally scarce coral-root bittercress, wild carrot, oyster fungi, deer and wild parsnip and is popular with walkers.

The cause of this latest leak has not been revealed, but developers Taylor Wimpey apologised for the issue and said they hope it will not happen again.

A spokesperson told the paper: “We sincerely apologise to local residents for the inconvenience caused by the recent drainage issue at the Pine Trees development.

“We have fully rectified the issue and put steps in place to ensure this does not reoccur.”