Morecambe man films ‘raw sewage’ spilling out onto promenade

Michael Little was walking along Marine Road West opposite Frontierland on Tuesday afternoon when he suddenly realised there was what he thought was sewage coming up through the drains.

However, United Utilities have said the issue was not caused by raw sewage, but by the highways gullies being blocked with silt.

At one point it bubbled up into the air, Mr Little said, and left the whole area with a putrid smell which he could still smell once he'd reached his home a short distance away.

Michael videoed the scene as he called United Utilities.

The video shows the outage spreading down past a road crossing and several parked cars towards the Battery.

At one point Mr Little warns passers-by what they are walking through.

"It was disgusting, I couldn't believe it," he said.

A United Utilities spokesperson said: “Our teams were called to reports of flooding from a sewer. After investigating, it has been confirmed that this was silt from a blocked highways drain and we have reported this to Lancashire County Council who are the responsible authority.”

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "The gullies on Marine Road are prone to deposits of sand and silt due to their coastal location, and we clean them on a cyclic basis to try to keep them clear and working, and ensure they don't become blocked.

"We expect the sand and silt may have been deposited around the gullies following recent very heavy rain. We will visit the site to sweep this up and check the gullies, however they are due to be cleaned as part of our normal cyclic maintenance within the next month.

"We also clean gullies reactively when a problem is found by our highways inspectors or reported by a member of the public. People can report highways issues to us using the Love Clean Streets app when they're on the go, and via our website and customer service centre."