Resident fears faeces flooding into her Euxton home if the neighbourhood's drains become overloaded

Carol Hulme is also very worried that with new houses being built near her home in Greenside that the raw sewage could also flood into her house if the area’s drainage system is overloaded even more.

The 72-year-old pensioner who lives by herself said: “When it rains nothing happens but when it’s a downpour my toilet gurgles and the water rises to the top of the toilet bowl and I know it’s going to flood outside.

“It floods all the way round the bungalow. There’s toilet paper and everything. I’ve had to have United Utilities out to disinfect it for years.

“A lot of the bungalows on this road flood. It’s an ongoing problem.

“About four years ago a United Utilities man came out because we kept having the same problem. He said they’d been round all the drains in the area and they are too small to handle the water. We need bigger drains but they will never do it because it will cost millions.

“I also had a surveyor look at my house. He told me my house is lower than the road and the field. When I told him about the new houses being built on the field nearby he shook his head.

“I’m extremely worried that it will come into my bungalow. They’ve said the drains for the new houses will be put into another drainage system going a different way but I don’t believe that.

“I saw the surveyor’s face and I know he was thinking that I’m going to flood even more with the new houses.”

Chorley Council has stipulated a planning condition to the developer Westchurch Homes bringing the 36 homes to the playing field to rear of houses Greenside.

It says that foul and surface water must be drained on separate systems and the risk of flooding to the proposed development, elsewhere and to future users must be reduced.

A United Utilities spokesman said: “We are aware of the flooding issues which occur during heavy rainfall and we understand how difficult this is for the residents on Greenside.

“This is a complex problem and there are a number of reasons why these properties flood, in particular their location below the level of the road.

“We have also recently noticed a significant rise in the amount of surface water going down the sewer and we are in the process of investigating where this is coming from.

“Over the years we have made several improvements to try to resolve this issue including increasing the capacity of our pumping station.

“This month we have been out again to clear away wastewater flooding caused by the recent storms and have arranged a CCTV survey to check everything is working properly.

“Unfortunately there is no simple solution to the flooding so we are now in the process of looking at other options to help these customers without pushing the problem onto other properties.”

Carol continued: “I’m 72 and I don’t want all this mither, I’m fed up.

“After storm Ciara I had a lot of waste washed into my garden. You could see number twos floating down the road.

“In the past I have disinfected my garden myself then United Utilities came out a few days later and cleaned it and had it disinfected.

“I’ve lived here for 15 years. I don’t think the flooding has just happened in my time. It affects about 20 bungalows down here. The drains come up on the road and we have got sewage coming out. It’s just that I’m worst affected because my house is lower.”

Developer Westchurch Homes did not reply to the Post’s request for comment.