Paul Seymour moved into Sandcliff Road in Erith in 1997 and, since then, says he has put up with raw sewage and other waste spilling from a manhole cover.
Paul claims that this issue has happened about 20 times since he moved there.
The 65-year-old maternity department worker told the News Shopper: “Shortly after we moved in, my wife and I were awoken one night by a huge noise.
“We thought there was a massive flood and there was.
“It was sewage and chemicals, and that all flowed down the road in November 1998.
“It was so bad and went into 10 houses.”
Paul and his wife Joanne were fortunate enough to avoid flooding in their home, but other residents were evacuated.
Thames Water reportedly spent two years fixing the house and promised to fix the problem.
However, Paul said: “Ever since then, every year or two years, and sometimes twice a year, we get the same problem.
“The manhole cover gets pushed up in the air, and you just get a torrent of faeces, used tampons, nappies, dead rats and they all come piling out.
“It happens for no obvious reason as it hasn’t been hugely wet around here, but it dissipated.”
Paul said that Thames Water does eventually turn up.
He has approached Bexley Council with the issue, but Paul says that it is “uninterested” and diverts him to Thames Water instead, calling it “a Thames Water problem, not a council problem”.
Paul added: “One of the questions that Thames Water asks is whether we think there’s any potential harm to health.
“Clearly there is, with raw sewage flowing down a road”.
Paul mentioned that one of his neighbours recently brought home a newborn baby to the state that Sandcliff Road is in.
He said: “Thames Water clears it up, claims they’ve done something and that it’s all fixed.
“And then it all happens again.”
The reason behind this reoccurring issue hasn’t been officially confirmed, but Paul told the News Shopper that he had spoken to a civil engineer, who theorised that it was caused by the constant building works taking place.
According to Paul, Thames Water told him that this issue was caused by “people putting wrong things down the toilet or fish and chip shops throwing fat down the sink”.
He added: “This issue hasn’t happened absolutely every year, and sometimes you get away with it.
“It’s strange because you think if you had a huge downpour, that’s when it would happen, but it’s normally a few days afterwards.
Paul and Joanne hoped that this home would be their first before selling.
However, the street itself has been called Poo Mews by locals and in coverage over the years and has also been featured in the 2015 documentary Britain’s Horror Homes.
Paul said: “Basically, we’re stuck.
“We’re going to have to live here until we die, which, if they carry on with this raw sewage, won’t be much longer.”
We have approached both Thames Water and Bexley Council for a comment.
A spokesperson for Bexley Council said: “This is a Thames Water issue.
“The Council will do all that it can to provide access and enable Thames Water to complete these works urgently.”
