A Tylers Green resident who has been impacted by a huge sewage leak within the village has called Thames Water ‘useless’.
The person, who wants to only be known as ‘Jane’, lives near the Horse & Jockey pub on Church Lane where the human waste first started to appear via an unfixed sinkhole in the morning of Tuesday, July 18.
The sinkhole first appeared in April this year but it has yet to be repaired due to an ongoing dispute regarding responsibility, as the layby is on land owned by the pub, but the underground issues are the accountability of the local authorities.
READ MORE: 'It absolutely stinks': Pub landlady raises fears over burst pipe spewing out sewage
The faecal matter then began to make its way out of the hole and into the street, with several houses being impacted.
One house, which is adjacent to the hole, saw a stream of brown water begin to enter its garden at around 7.30 that morning, with huge gushes occurring every 10 minutes.
The smell of the waste then began to take over the village.
She immediately notified Thames Water and asked for help, only to be told that assistance would arrive ‘within 12 hours of the call’ – an answer she described as ‘not good enough’.
Instead, officers from Buckinghamshire Highways attended and helped those living next to the scene by administering sandbags and taking photos.
The officers have also notified Thames Water and have asked ‘to make this case a priority’, as it was discovered that several sanitary towels had entered the garden, along with parts of the pathway.
READ MORE: Human waste and sanitary towels emerge as burst pipe causes chaos in village
The person said: “Thames Water have been very unhelpful.
“They’ve been useless.
“It was very hard to get through to them and once I did, they told me they’ll arrive within 12 hours.
“The garden is my pride and joy, and the sewage is ruining it.
“I’m in the garden every day doing bits and bobs as it’s quite big, and the summerhouse is currently filled with garden furniture and the grandchildren’s toys.
“Something needs to be done, and I thought Thames Water would have come immediately when I rang the emergency number this morning but they didn’t.
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“We had a similar issue about three years ago and we thought that the issue was fixed, but it’s obviously not.
“It took so long to get through to someone as the garden was filling up with water and it’s frightening to see how fast it’s coming in.
“There is a foul smell and it’s awful as the water is nearly 30 centimetres high.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: "We received reports of a leak on a waste pipe at Church Road in High Wycombe earlier today on Tuesday, July 18.
"Our engineers are currently enroute to investigate the issue.
“We are sorry to residents who have been impacted by this and would like them to know our teams are working to resolve the issue quickly and safely.”
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