A couple have been forced to use a bucket as a toilet after raw sewage flooded their drains on their new-build estate.
Kim and Lee Bourton moved into a new property on The Fairways Estate, Cramlington, Northumberland, just over two years ago but have been plagued with sewage and drainage problems ever since.
Over the Christmas and New Year break the drains on the estate to became blocked, leaving them without a toilet or shower.
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She said: "We have been having to use a bucket to go to the toilet. We were meant to be having friends round for New Year's Eve but we can't expect them to use a bucket.
"We contacted the emergency number but were told we were no longer covered because we had lived in the house for more than two years so aren't entitled to cover anymore.
"But they already know about this issue and are liable for it. We were told to get a company to clean the drains but it is a problem with the entire estate.
"The one person we managed to contact in the office said there was no one in as the offices were closed over Christmas."
Kim and Lee, who bought the property for £260,000, said the issue had been ongoing on the estate since they moved in. She said: "Last February all the drains became blocked and the sewage was running all over the estate.
"There is an issue when the drains become blocked and it backs up blocking the toilet and drains so we can't use the shower. It is five times in two years we've had problems and to be honest I feel like it is false promises from Persimmon."
Persimmon sent out out someone to temporarily fix the problem on Friday evening but Kim said the drains were overflowing again by New Year's Day.
She said: "The toilets and shower are blocked again. The drain has burst and running into the suds which drain into a pond where there is a lot of wildlife, including protected newts.
"They said the pump station is not working which is causing the drains to be full backed up. The pump station is fenced off and padlocked and nobody with keys is contactable so no one can access it in an emergency."
A Persimmon spokesperson said: “We were sorry to hear about the difficulties experienced by one of our customers at the Fairways development over the festive period. When our Customer Care team was notified about the problem, a vactor was sent to jet wash and clean the drainage system as quickly as possible.
“We are aware of technical issues with the sewage system at the site and work is ongoing with contractors to develop a long-term solution as quickly as possible.”
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