Two manholes which leak raw sewage into a nearby beck are being tackled after a long battle by campaigners.

The Aire Rivers Trust, a charity which works to improve local waterways, is chalking up a victory after persuading Yorkshire Water to take action.

Chairman Kevin Sunderland said that in January 2012 he had noticed that the manholes, on the banks of the Carr Beck near New Line, Greengates, were leaking sewage and used toilet tissue after bouts of heavy rain.

Despite temporary fixes by Yorkshire Water, Mr Sunderland said the pressure in the sewer was so great that the tops of the manholes kept being destroyed.

He said: “It’s just blowing the tops off the manholes so everything discharges into the stream. It’s not very nice.”

Now Yorkshire Water has sealed up the manholes and is looking into whether a full-scale improvement project is needed on the underlying pipework.

Mr Sunderland said he was pleased with the result, and praised Yorkshire Water for “going out of their way” to tackle the issue.

Councillor Geoff Reid (Liberal Democrat, Eccleshill), who had written to Yorkshire Water about the problem, said: “I welcome the increased seriousness with which Yorkshire Water are now responding to the problem.

“The Aire Rivers Trust have been brilliant at getting us to this point.”

A Yorkshire Water spokesman said potential causes of the problem had been tree roots and vandalism.

She said: “We have been carrying out a number of tests to identify the cause of the sewage issue.

“We have used CCTV to help cut back the tree roots and have now lined the pipe to prevent further root growth.

“It's disappointing that the area had been targeted by vandals and with the support of Coun Geoff Reid and the Aire Rivers Trust we have reinforced the manhole cover.

“Visits to the site will continue on a regular basis and the next step is to investigate the potential for further work.”