FAMILIES affected by a burst sewer pipe are set to be relieved of their misery by the weekend after Thames Water received emergency planning permission to take action.

Engineers from the water company started work on the sewer pipe in Liden yesterday after raw sewage was pumped into the gardens of three homes in Eliot Close.

Residents Sandra Hunt and her son Adam, who appeared in the Adver earlier this week complaining about the sewage, have since come down with sickness and are blaming the incident for their illness.

A spokesman for Thames Water said: “We started digging down go put in a new man hole. It has got to be three metres under the ground.

“The sewer network that is blocked was only taken on by Thames Water in October.

“We have had to install a man hole cover because we couldn’t find access. It was privately owned before October.

“We have got access now so we can get to it and clear the blockage.

“We have been working with the council and they have allowed us emergency permission to get it done.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience.

“We are doing everything we can to try and minimise the impact.

“We have been taking away the sewage, we are doing everything we can.”

The pipe burst on April 27, leaving Sandra and her husband Robert, who have both recently battled cancer, and their son, Adam, with the smell of sewage day and night.

Their two sets of neighbours have also been affected.

The water is only about five feet away from the back of Sandra’s house.

Sandra, 52, who is a dinner lady at Liden Primary School, has had to take time off work after she started vomiting this week.

Her son, Adam, who is at New College, has also become ill and they are blaming the sewage pipe.

“I think it could be because of the pipe because the smell was absolutely putrid,” she said.

“They have told us they will be sending out a hygienic cleaning team when the blockage is cleared as well.

“I shall be well relieved when it’s all over.”