Project starts to stop sewage flooding gardens in Norton

She also campaigned for the main flood defences, which were “brilliant”, she said.

“They’ve saved maybe 150 houses from being flooded inside.

“This was just the last piece of the jigsaw that they hadn’t sorted out.”

The local sewer network carries both wastewater and surface water flows.

As a result, it becomes overwhelmed by rain water which would previously have run into the River Derwent, before the flood wall was installed.

The sewage then overflows through drainage systems in gardens.

It is only prevented from entering homes by temporary pumping systems, Keal said.

“They have to put tankers out there and basically suck out the sewers 24/7 to just get the sewage away and stop it going into people’s properties.”