Residents of a Keighley street are causing a stink about a sewage leak outside their homes.

Sewage has spurted into the air from a burst sewer in the middle of Wheathead Lane several times.

Despite efforts by Yorkshire Water the problem, caused during heavy rain, spread to the garden of at least one home. Lilian Hughes said the effluent – including faeces, used tampons and toilet rolls – flooded her kitchen.

She said the four-inch-deep mess damaged her kitchen units and almost seeped into her living room. She is angry that Yorkshire Water took at least two days to clear the mess despite arranging several appointments.

Mrs Hughes claimed she and her six-year-old granddaughter, Shae, had fallen ill as a result of the pollution.

She said: “The force blew the cover off the sewage pipe in my garden. My garden was littered with it. Faeces were flying everywhere.

“The smell was atrocious. It covered the kitchen floor and headed towards the living room carpet. We had to put bath towels down to stop it.”

Mrs Hughes’ neighbour, Bradford councillor Adrian Farley, was among residents who called Yorkshire Water to try to get the problem solved.

He said that initially raw sewage sprayed up near the middle of the road but after investigating Yorkshire Water concluded there was no problem.

A Yorkshire Water spokesman said its staff were working closely with residents to help with clean-ups.

He said: “Flooding of any kind is something no one should ever have to suffer and we're working hard to investigate the cause of a number of incidents. We're also inspecting our local sewer network to check for any problems. If we identify any issues, we'll work hard to resolve these as swiftly as possible.”

Coun Farley said a deep clean of the sewer by Yorkshire Water had helped towards solving the problem.

He said workers had found concrete in the drain, which would require a lot of work to remove. It was unclear when this would be carried out.