SEWAGE spilling down the road and in front of people's houses in a Dales village may be due to a foul water pipe being incorrectly connected into a culvert.
Residents in Long Preston have been reporting sewage bubbling out of at least one surface water drain near the pinch-point between Moor Lane and School Lane, off Maypole Green.
Earlier this week a resident had placed cones near the roadside with a message to contact United Utilities because of the spillage. It was also warning people so they didn't walk through it.
This week the area had a strong smell of sewage and there was white residue on the road surface which was disintegrated toilet tissue which had travelled for several metres in front of people's houses and across a road where people walk.
The resident said the problem had occurred since the new housing development had been built in Moor Lane.
The resident added: "We are convinced the sewage drains have been connected wrongly. Someone from United Utilities came a while ago to repair something and said it would be okay now, but it wasn't and sewage started coming out of a surface water drain again. Children have to walk through it on their way to school so it could cause a very real health hazard. No one seems to accept responsibility or try and get to the bottom of what is the problem."
A spokesperson for United Utilities said they had been investigating reports of the problem with North Yorkshire Council and had been out to the address on a number of occasions.
The spokesperson added: "The flooding is being caused when a collapsed culvert is backing up during periods of heavy rain and overflowing through the highway drains. We have been working with North Yorkshire Council, which is responsible for the culvert and the highway drains, to investigate the problem.
"We believe a foul water pipe has been 'misconnected' somewhere into the culvert, which should only be carrying surface water from highways drains. We have begun extensive investigations to locate the misconnection, but are unable to complete this work until the council has repaired the culvert.
"Although the flooding is not coming from the United Utilities network we have been carrying out clean-ups as a courtesy, and would encourage residents to report issues to the council."

North Yorkshire Council's corporate director of environment, Karl Battersby said: "We appreciate the concerns of the residents and we are working closely with Uited Utilities to address the issue as soonb as possible.

“Unfortunately, there have been rare times when heavy rain has caused sewer surcharge to flow onto the road.“Although the council isn’t responsible for sewage pipes, there is a culvert running under School Lane from the junction of Green Gate Lane towards the A65 and there is a small section which is lined with silt.

“The aim is to repair the culvert to find the leak. We have to consider the disruption the works would have on the nearby school, as they will take a number of weeks and would require a road closure.

“Once we finalise the design and costs, we will be able to provide a timescale and decide on the most appropriate date.”