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London man has up to 10,000 litres of sewage pumped out of flat a day after street repairs

Mark Ludmon says sewage water inside flat can be up to 40cm deep

Heather Saul
Wednesday 17 December 2014 16:30 GMT
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A picture of Mr Ludmon's flooded bathroom
A picture of Mr Ludmon's flooded bathroom (Twitter/ Mark Ludmon)

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A man in London has spent a week surrounded by a deluge of sewage after workmen damaged piping while carrying out repairs on his street.

Mark Ludmon's flat in Clapham, south-west London, has been flooded with sewage and waste for almost a week.

The 47-year-old told The Evening Standard sewage is currently seeping through his walls and drains.

Mr Ludmon says relief workers are pumping up to 10,000 litres of liquid from his flat each day but it continues to fill up. Thames Water has also offered to send cleaners to “valet” his flat alongside the workers sent out in the middle of the night to pump out sewage.

He told The Standard: "It's a constant stink. It's smelly, rank water pervading my flat, and I'm still having to sleep here because contractors come late at night to pump out.”

He said waste from two flats above him is entering his property.

Mr Ludmon is still able to sleep in the flat because waste is spilling from a drain going through his bathroom, which is on the lower-ground floor of the property.

The rest of the flat is on a level above, meaning the waste has not entered there.

He added: "It's not affecting the rest of my property - where I sleep and my kitchen - yet, but un-pumped it just goes up and up and up."

Mr Ludmon also voiced concerns the problem could continue until Christmas, saying: "It's not affecting the rest of my property - where I sleep and my kitchen - yet, but un-pumped it just goes up and up and up.

Anthony Crawford, head of waste networks at Thames Water, told The Independent: “We are really sorry for the distress we’ve caused Mr Ludmon - our response to his problem has been unacceptably slow.

"Our teams are on site making sure no more sewage enters Mr Ludmon’s home, that the damaged pipe is fixed as fast as possible, and his home is fully cleaned-up and any necessary repairs made”

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