Anger after Southern Water pump fails on Hayling Island

Southern Water's pump failed on Saturday night which led to discharge from surrounding manhole covers in Stoke village on Hayling Island.

Residents are concerned after a previous failure in September when sewage flowed into Langstone Harbour.

Southern Water regional operational manager Daniel McElhinney confirmed the leak was a failure in the new pumping system combined with the affects of heavy rainfall.

He said: '˜The waste water system around our Stoke Hayling Island pumping station was affected by the extremely heavy rainfall on Saturday night, following a report of water spilling from a manhole cover.

'˜To our great disappointment, a newly installed pump failed to automatically switch on to relieve pressure on the system.'

Stoke village resident, Richard Platt, saw first hand the discharge flowing from one of the manhole covers.

He said: '˜One of the covers is in the ditch close to the bottom of my garden. There were leaks flowing out from three different places.

'˜At the moment it seems like Southern Water are putting their fingers in the dyke but aren't able to stop the flow.

'˜They appear to be doing their best but the system is not fit for purpose.'

Despite concerns over contamination from effluent, Southern Water have moved to reassure residents that there are no traces of sewage.

Mr McElhinney said: '˜The site was manned over the whole weekend and field teams also carried out extensive testing of the surrounding area and water courses. No pollution was found and there have been no reports of internal flooding.'

The leak follows on from what residents described as a positive meeting with the water company the previous day.

'˜I could not believe it. We had a really good meeting with Southern Water and had assurances about the way forward and then this happens,' added Richard.

Mr McElhinney has said that Southern Water are frustrated by the recent event and has reassured residents the situation with the newly installed pump has now been rectified.

He said: '˜We believe the £100,000 investment made at the site has greatly improved its resilience but we are deeply frustrated that this happened. However, now this fault has been rectified, we are confident the same issue is unlikely to occur again.'