A STREET was flooded with sewage when a waste pipe leaked.

Filthy liquid began flowing from below a manhole cover in the garden of a house in Southover, Daisy Hill.

Within hours, waste was gushing out of the pipe and the flood had spread across the width of the road where it was lapping at a number of front gardens.

It spread to nearby France Street every time cars and other vehicles turned into the road. The flood, which began at 9am on Saturday, was made worse by heavy rain throughout the morning.

Angela Brooks, who lives next door to the house where the drain was leaking, said she realised something was wrong when the water in her sink wouldn't drain properly.

She said: ""Then I saw the drain was leaking. To start with there was just a trickle coming from the man hole cover but then it started pumping out.

"It was only because our houses are on a slope that the mess hadn't seeped inside."

Workers arrived shortly after lunch and pumped the waste from the street. They contacted the utility company, which stopped the leak and began to clear the waste left on the road and pavement.

A United Utilities spokesman said: "We took a call at noon. Within our normal two-hour response time, we attended the scene by 1.45pm.

"The local highways officials were on site. With their support, we cleared the blockage."