Disabled woman 'used cat litter as toilet' because of sewage problems in West Norfolk villages

An elderly disabled woman has resorted to sitting on cat litter as a toilet because waste water from a sewage works had blocked her drains, a meeting heard.

People living in three villages in West Norfolk say their gardens are regularly flooded with raw sewage, sanitary waste and toilet roll because of the issues with drainage in the area.

At a public meeting in Grimston, near King's Lynn in Norfolk, villagers told representatives from Anglian Water about the impact on their lives and properties.

One 87-year-old woman, who said she had recently become disabled after a stroke, said she had been forced to extreme measures because her toilet was blocked so often.

"I've had to resort to sitting on cat litter to get rid of my own waste, because the sewer in front of my house is so bad that whenever we get heavy rain it overflows and it flows back into my drains," she said.

"I'm left isolated in my house with no means whatsoever of getting rid of waste."

The woman, who did not give her name, said she had bought a commode in February which she had lined with cat litter and used as a toilet for five days.

"It was the only way I could think of to not only use it but to store the waste until I could get out and dispose of it."

She added that her home was also usually surrounded by flood water "because the drains in the road don't work either".

Following the meeting, Norfolk County Council offered support to the woman and Anglian Water was asked to send an engineer to look at the issue.

Data from the Environment Agency shows the Grimston Water Recycling Centre discharged into the River Gaywood 86 times in 2023 for a total of 1,651 hours - the equivalent of around 69 days.

Since 2021, there have been 261 spills through storm overflows from the treatment works for a total of more than 5,000 hours.

Storm overflows are intended to be used as an emergency measure when the sewerage system is at risk of becoming overwhelmed.

During heavy rainfall, water companies use the overflows to spill rainwater and sewage into rivers and seas to prevent sewers backing up and causing flooding.

But villagers in Pot Row, Grimston and Royson said they had faced months of waste water overflowing from drains following heavy rain, covering roads and causing problems for households.

And the situation is getting worse due to the strain on the sewer system caused by new housing developments in the area.

Anglian Water said surface water was infiltrating its sewer system, which was unable to cope due to the wet weather this winter.

A spokesman said: "The ongoing issues at Grimston pumping station are caused by surface and groundwater infiltration into our sewer network following the ongoing wet weather. We’re working very closely with the Environment Agency to monitor the issue and have teams checking the site regularly.

"Flooding and drainage issues are looked after by lots of different agencies. We’re already working with the local council, the Environment Agency and lead local flood authority to undertake further work and decide jointly how best to prevent these problems happening in the future."

Mark Dye, a Grimston parish councillor and Gaywood River campaigner, said: “Some of the stories we heard were horrendous and deeply upsetting.

“I think locals have shown great resilience and been patient enough already.

“While I appreciate 2024 saw record levels of rainfall, the problems in the three villages have been getting worse for years.

“This all points to a failure in proper long-term investment to keep up with local development and upgrades to infrastructure.”

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