Wickford Vista Road waste removal lorries wreaking havoc

Frustrated residents have revealed how a lorry has been positioned on Vista Road, in Wickford, for 20 hours a day every day since June 18. 

Alan Warne, 81, said the issue began when sewage seeped through to the back of his garden after a pipe collapsed underneath a railway line nearby. 

Frustrated - Alan and Sue Warne (Image: Michael Robinson)

Anglian Water and Network Rail say they are “liaising” over repair works, but a sewage lorry has been placed on the road since to monitor for potential overflows. 

Mr Warne said the lorries were first called to the property on June 5, then again on June 15, and finally on June 18 – and have remained since.

Residents have reported that the lorries are there for around 20 hours a day.One of the lorries in the street (Image: Michael Robinson)

He said: “They’ve been told if another lot falls down, because they don’t exactly know how much is going to fall down, they’ve got to sit there, one in the daytime, one in the night, have a quick check and then go home.

“While they were [draining the sewage], it wasn’t too pleasant. Now, they’re just guarding it to make sure it does stop, it fills up pretty quickly.”

Mr Warne’s wife, Sue, added: “If I get up, I momentarily forget, I open that front bedroom door and red lights are glaring in the bedroom, and [the lorry’s] buzzing.”

Sewage overflow spilling into Paul Warne's garden (Image: Paul Warne)

Sandie Mills, 64, who has had to deal with the lorry, said the sounds and lights of the vehicle had forced her to relocate to another room in her house to sleep.

She said: “When it’s night-time, it’s really noisy. Especially with this weather when you’ve got the windows open.

“I usually sleep at the front, but I’ve had to sleep at the back. [You’ve got to] put up with it. I’d rather have that than it running off into Sue and Alan’s garden.

“When it floods down the side, [the smell] is awful, and when they drain it, it smells. Right now, you can’t smell it that much."

Sandie and Vince Mills (Image: Michael Robinson)
Her husband, Vince, 65, raised concerns that the lorry is blocking the road and could cause issues for parents living on Jack’s Close when children return to school.

An Anglian Water spokesperson said: “We are aware of a collapsed sewer on Vista Road in Wickford and we’re currently liaising with Network Rail to enable us to begin the repair work.

“In the meantime, we have needed to use tankers to take away the residents’ wastewater and prevent any flooding, so residents can continue to safely use their toilets and their taps.”

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We’ve been liaising with Anglian Water and their contractor to assist with providing access to the railway and agree how and when the repairs will be carried out while protecting the critical railway infrastructure which serves Southminster.