A NURSE has hit out over failures to repair a burst pipe that has left "horrific" smelling sewage running down the street outside her home for weeks.

And she fears for the safety of children at a nearby primary school, who she says could be walking through the effluent before going to classes.

Gloria Egan, 66, a nurse who lives in School Terrace, Brafferton, north of York, says the pipe burst six weeks ago, but Yorkshire Water has so far been unable to fix the issue.

Yorkshire Water said it had been refused a permit to fix the damaged sewer by the local authority because of other work in the area, but the pipe would be mended as soon as possible.

Gloria, a mum of two and grandmother of three, said: "The smell is horrible. It is effluent, you can see it. It stinks. It is all over the path.

"I have to walk through it coming into the house. It's a health issue and the smell is horrific.

"I'm not paying my water bill this year, put it that way."

Gloria said she was worried about pupils at St Peter's C of E Primary School, which is located on School Terrace.

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She said: "The school kids are my biggest concern. The kids are walking through it, then they will go inside and sit on the floor for stories. It's not good, is it? It's a health issue if you have effluent on the road.

"It's gone on for six weeks."

York Press: The leak from the sewer in School Terrace, Brafferton. Picture: Gloria EganThe leak from the sewer in School Terrace, Brafferton. Picture: Gloria Egan

Gloria said Yorkshire Water had told residents the leak would be fixed on June 26, but that date had then been cancelled.

She claimed they had then been given a date of July 5, but says Yorkshire Water didn't turn up.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said: "After being called to School Terrace our teams found damage to the sewer and applied for a permit from the local authority highways team to implement traffic management to allow the work to be completed safely.

"Unfortunately, the permit was refused due to other temporary traffic management in place nearby for work by a third party. To reduce the impact of the damaged sewer we have been pumping waste away on a daily basis.

"We apologise for the inconvenience and the delay in resolving this issue and will be working closely with the local authority highways team to plan the work as soon as possible.”

The Press approached North Yorkshire Council and St Peter's C of E Primary School for comment and will publish any responses received.