Householders in St Audrey Lane, Warren Road and Pig Lane have had their homes and gardens flooded by raw sewage three times in the last year because of storm and foul water surcharges following heavy rain.

But Anglian Water bosses told Huntingdonshire District Council on Tuesday (July 8), that the sewers around those streets are not the company's responsibility.

Councillors heard at a meeting of the overview and scrutiny panel that the sewers in the Warren Road and Pig Lane area have never been adopted by Anglian Water and were owned by the residents.

Customer response manager for Anglian Water Liz McBreen said: "One solution to the problem would be for all the residents to apply for adoption of the sewers, but that would mean they would have to be brought up to the standard required for Anglian Water to adopt them.

"The cost of this would have to be the burden of the residents and the district council. There would be significant investment needed, but that would lead to an improvement in the sewers."

From 1974 to 1996, Huntingdonshire District Council managed the sewer system, but since then Anglian Water has taken over running all adopted sewers. But around 40 per cent of sewers in the UK are not adopted and are the responsibility of householders.

Mr Blackmore said the water company has no plans to upgrade the pumping station, which serves St Ives, but would carry out a CCTV survey of the sewer system along Pig Lane to maintain whether it is suitable for adoption.

Cllr Mac McGuire said: "If that was undertaken by Anglian Water maybe we as a district council could look to investing in a solution to this problem."

Cllr Mike Baker said: "I still worry that building 300 new homes in the west of St Ives will aggravate the problem.

"I really do feel for these good people in St Ives who pay their water rates and sewage charges, they deserve better than what they are getting at the moment."

After the meeting St Audrey Lane resident Joe Welsh said: "It seems as if there is a little bit of hope, but I think it will take years rather than months to get a real solution."

Anyone experiencing sewage problems can call Anglian Water's 24-hour helpline on 08457 145145.