A FAMILY was reduced to using supermarket and leisure centre toilets for two months because delayed repairs to a pipe at the back of their house.

Krishan Preet Shee and his wife and three children were left without the use of their own toilet even after several complaints to Thames Water.

He believes the situation has made family members ill.

This has left Mrs Shee suffering from stomach cramps due to avoiding using her toilet, as well as both children falling ill with an infection.

Mr Shee said: “I am extremely angry that Thames Water have failed to do what they promised in making sure the pipe was pumped two times a day.

“They are always making excuses.

“Overflowing or a filled toilet is a huge concern to me as it can cause infections to not only myself but also my family.

“It’s because of them my family have had to suffer, I have had to take my kids to Tesco, Oasis and anywhere that has a toilet facility, so they can relieve themselves.”

He added: “I have sent several emails to Thames Water’s CEO, customer services and made several phone calls.

“At least, they could have provided us with a decent alternative or a portable toilet.”

The pipe that has been blocked is right outside the property in Rayfield Grove in Ferndale and runs underneath the house, which is one of the reasons the water company claims it has been difficult to resolve.

Water had been overflowing in the family’s bathroom and caused the toilet to fill up with faeces – which can be seen in photographs sent into the Adver by Mr Shee.

He also claims that the company has started only little work in the street, and this was of them only digging up the road and then leaving it in that state.

He said Thames Water promised to pump out the drain water from the house twice every day but sometimes they didn’t turn up to do the work.

When they would show up to do the draining it could sometimes be at 11pm at night which was a very loud process.

A spokesperson for Thames Water said: “When we first arrived it was explained to the resident that the blockage might be quite shallow, but but warned it could also be deeper.

“Mr Shee was happy for us to start work but unfortunately because it is so deep we had to go back.

“We’re aware of this issue but unfortunately as the damaged pipe is so deep underground we had to carry out a structural survey of the area before we could safely start work to fix it - the survey has now been done and we’ve been on site this morning to get the work fixed.

“The different stages have been communicated to him.

“With regards to the pump outs, we have done this several times a day but occasionally cars have been blocking the alley, so we’ve not been able to get our equipment down there.

“In the meantime, we’re using a tanker to pump sewage out of the pipe up to four times-a-day to keep it clear and ensure sewerage services for residents are unaffected. We’re sorry to the family for the inconvenience this is causing but want to reassure them getting this resolved is a top priority for us.”