A MAN has criticised Severn Trent Water after it took five days to unblock a drain.
John Straw contacted the firm on Christmas Eve after finding sewage overflowing in his and his neighbours' back gardens.
He was told someone would turn out on Boxing Day to put the problem right. But no one turned up until Wednesday.
Mr Straw said they temporarily fixed the blockage but would have to return because it was believed the drain had collapsed.
"I first reported this on Christmas Eve about lunchtime," said Mr Straw, 64, of Temple Drive, Nuthall.
"I looked outside and saw that the drain was getting blocked, so I rang Severn Trent to see if someone could come to sort it out.
"When they said Boxing Day, I thought, 'OK I'll just have to put up with this over Christmas Day, and I was prepared for that.
"But I didn't hear anything after that. I contacted them about it but heard nothing.
"I couldn't get through to their call centres. I just ended up on hold, listening to music for an age.
"I had to call up at 2am on Tuesday to get through. It's not good enough.
"Then they just turned up on Wednesday morning without notice to put it right. They did a good job but I don't see why they weren't in touch sooner."
Mr Straw said the sewage created a bad odour at the back of the houses.
He added: "The smell was awful out the back. I wouldn't go out there because I didn't know if it was a health hazard.
"I was getting loads of sewage coming out of a manhole behind my house. It was not a nice sight.
"The longer the problem went unattended, the worse it got. I am on the end house and I was ending up with a pond of sewage at the back."
Mr Straw said two of his neighbours had been affected.
He added: "It's not necessarily the fact that they didn't turn up so soon, because I know they must be busy. But I thought they would contact me to say when they were coming."
No one from Severn Trent was available for comment but the firm had previously told the Post that it had been busy with calls about burst pipes.
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