A couple's daily nightmare of sewage seeping from a neighbouring development took a turn for the worse last week as floods brought the stench of human excrement to their doorstep.

John and Hazel Welch of The Clockhouse, in Otterspool Lane, Aldenham, have faced a seamless spouting of sewage from a statue of Pandora at the bottom of their garden ever since the nearby Wall Hall development began around 2001.

Life next to the river Colne makes flooding a regular occurrence for Mr and Mrs Welch, one they say they are used to and can easily live with. The smell and pollution caused by sewage water mixing with the flooding, however, has often made their garden unapproachable.

Mr Welch criticised developer Octagon for not checking the pipe correctly before the conversion into 125 houses and apartments was finished and the sewage maintenance was passed on to Thames Water.

He said: “We have tried to be nice in the past but we've just had enough now. Every day it seeps out and it stinks. It's really billowing out of the drain at the moment because of the flooding."

Mrs Welch added: “What annoys us is that if the checks were done properly when the development took place the developer would have to pay for the repairs. Now it's Thames Water it has to come out of the public's hands. Octagon just handed it over and walked away.”

They said dog walkers and residents of around ten other properties in Otterspool Lane smelt the sewage every day and, regardless of regular promises of a pipe repair stemming back to 2001, nothing had changed.

Richard Galland, regional managing director of Octagon Developments, said: “All of the drainage was thoroughly inspected. Where new drainage was needed new drainage was put in. Then when it was transferred to Thames Water they did their own check and took it on board. They don't just accept these things unless they are in full working order.”

He added that there were less people on the site than when it was used as a university which led to less waste being produced.

Mrs Welch disagreed, saying the residents of the development use their bathrooms more frequently, especially in the mornings and evenings, and created much more waste than before.

She said: “They probably don't even know it's happening. If I were them I wouldn't want my poo and nappies coming out at the bottom of someone's garden.”

Thames Water representative Amy Dutton said the ownership of the pipe was currently unclear but said the firm would carry out repairs before the right owner was found.

She added: “Our engineers attended the property quickly yesterday to investigate the problem and arranged for a tanker to be on site to prevent further flooding.

"The manhole could not be inspected due to high waters caused by the river Colne bursting its banks.

"Once the water has subsided and it is safe for our engineers to inspect the manhole, an investigation will be carried out.

"We take all flooding incidents very seriously and understand that this is particularly distressing for customers.

"There is currently an ongoing investigation into who owns the sewer. While ownership is being investigated, we will consider repairing the problem to give peace of mind to Mr and Mrs Welch and recoup costs once ownership has been clarified."