THE residents of a picturesque Ribble Valley village are creating a stink about raw sewage running down their main street.

Now Ribble Valley Council and United Utilities have pledged to solve the problem, which has got worse during recent heavy rains.

A sewer next to West Bradford Post Office in the centre of the village regularly floods, sending sewage and toilet tissue spilling into the street from an overflowing manhole.

Angry West Bradford borough councillor Gwen Pye said she had been calling on the authorities to solve the problem for five years.

She added: "The recent rains have yet again brought this issue to a head, with untreated sewage streaming across the main road. It is disgraceful that people's health is being put at risk in this way.

"The local people and myself have requested help innumerable times. I have been to the site recently and there was raw sewage running across the road. It's time for something to be done."

Sub-postmistress Marilyn Wood said the sewage often came up to the front door of her shop and described the situation as intolerable.

She said: "Surface water from the road is entering the sewer, when it rains hard. The sewer overflows and blows the manhole cover. An inspection chamber at the front of my property then overflows, sending sewage under my front door and into the house.

"Added to this, cars drive through the village, sending waves of water into the front of properties. I'm forever cleaning up bits of toilet paper and this situation has become intolerable."

Ribble Valley Council engineering manager Graham Jagger said the problem was aggravated by the recent torrential downpours and ultimate responsibility lay with United Utilities.

"We act as agents for United Utilities and have devised a £20,000 scheme to deal with the problem. Sewage systems aren't designed to deal with torrential downpours and a potential solution has involved a fair amount of investigation. It's up to United Utilities to decide whether the scheme gets the go-ahead.

A spokesman for United Utilities said: "We have asked Ribble Valley Council to come up with a viable solution to the problem for consideration by us."