Foul memories of sewage in the streets came flooding back this week for some residents.

A manhole overflowed on Halfway Road, Halfway, yesterday morning, pouring waste out on to the road.

Mick Yates, manager of the Island Aerials store near to the manhole cover, said it was “disgusting”.

“It smelt awful and it was all running down the road,” he added. “The last couple of times we’ve had heavy rain it’s done it.”

An eyewitness saw the sewage at around 10am, but a spokesman for Southern Water said they were not made aware of the problem until after midday, although a drainage team did arrive at the site in just over half an hour.

The spokesman apologised to those affected, adding: “There was a partial blockage in the sewer caused by a build up of fat which meant that the pipe couldn’t cope with the increased flows caused by recent heavy rain.

“The sewerage system was built to deal with waste from toilets, sinks and baths but not designed for the disposal of sanitary products, wet wipes, fat and oil.”

Residents were advised to bag and bin fat once it has cooled and to dispose of food waste in bins.