RAW sewage poured into an Edgworth cottage after heavy rain flooded a nearby sewer system.

Firefighters from Bolton North Fire Station and United Utilities engineers were called to the home in Birches Road after the couple living there reported the flooding at 8.30am today.

Crews spent five hours draining away the mess down a nearby manhole cover.

They said a blockage in the sewer caused it to back up into the cottage through drains.

Watch Commander, Kev Barrow, said: "It was about eight inches deep and covered two living rooms, the kitchen and the hallway.

"It was quite smelly and certainly wasn't very pleasant for the couple. Things like the carpet were destroyed.

"The man's son and his family had come to visit from Wales but they had to leave."

Elsewhere, the cellars of three homes in Bury Road, Radcliffe were also flooded by water six feet deep.

Firefighters from Whitefield Fire Station were called at 8.34am to drain away the water.

A United Utilities spokesman said: "The exceptionally heavy rainfall across the region has caused widespread flooding, some of it caused by sewers overflowing.

"We recognise this is very unpleasant for the residents affected, especially where the flooding has come inside properties.

"Our engineers and contractors have been working around the clock to assist with the clean up."