Wyndham Court flat like a 'septic tank' as sewage overflows

At its worst, Ed Francis was confronted with brown water six inches deep at his council flat in Wyndham Court - forcing him to use duvets and towels to stem the foul flood from pouring into the hallway.

Since the issue first arose seven days ago, Ed has been forced to bleach his entire flat, bin piles of soiled possessions and even move his cat to stay with his godson in Shirley to avoid the 'thick brown ooze'.

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Sewage overflowing into a flat in Wyndham Court, Southampton (Image: Supplied) Every time one of the flats above flush their toilet or empty their bath, the 44-year-old said: "It’s just flushing out onto my floor: lumps, chunks and everything.

"I have essentially been living, because it’s a very small flat, in a septic tank for seven days."

After reporting the issue to the council, the first plumber came out the same day - but said the issue had solved itself when his toilet suddenly became unblocked.

But a couple of days later, the reprieve was cut short when his toilet erupted again with other people's waste.

He said: "Every time someone flushes up above you can hear it bubbling and then the whole thing rises up about an inch. It’s literally like a little volcano.

"All that sewage has gone under the bath, under the sink and the fittings. It stinks."

Sewage overflowing into the flat (Image: Supplied) Another plumber was sent out who said he could not touch the pipes, much to Ed's confusion - and drainage company Metro Rod have also taken a look at the issue, taking out his toilet in an attempt to fix the issue once and for all.

Baby wipes were found, leading the experts to surmise that a neighbour may have clogged the system.

It is thought that sewage is flowing from around three to eight flats on the upper floors and into his bathroom. 

In the meantime, Ed has not been able to use his toilet, forcing him to use a nearby pub every time he needed to relieve himself, or wash his clothes - and has had to bin books, shoes and cat toys.

Ed, who has lived alone in his flat since 2009, said there have never been issues like this before and that he's been ringing the council for days to try and get it sorted.

Ed Francis outside Wyndham Court (Image: NQ) He said: "Dealing with the council is a nightmare because you phone their emergency number and it’s like, 'This number is closed, please use our daytime number'."

He fears the whole bathroom now needs to be pulled out and rebuilt, but thinks this could cost up to £2,000 which he wouldn't be able to afford.

He said: "It stinks, living in this and trying to sleep in this, it’s horrible. 

"I’m just very disappointed really in more the plumbing side and the lack of anything being done properly. If it had been fixed at the first point, this wouldn’t have happened."

A council spokesperson told the Echo: "We are aware of a situation at Wyndham Court relating to faulty pipes at a resident’s home.

"Our maintenance staff are currently attempting to rectify this issue to make sure that this problem is fixed.

"Our Area Estates Manager has been in contact with the tenant and apologised for the disruption they have been experiencing.

"They will be meeting with the tenant in due course to agree an action plan to prevent this issue from arising again.”