Attempts to stop sewage leaking from a burst pipe near a nature reserve have caused days of disruption to people living nearby.

South West Hertfordshire MP Gagan Mohindra has stepped in after the burst sewage pipe at Lynsters Farm near West Hyde began causing disruption.

The leak, near Maple Lodge Nature Reserve, also affected two lakes.

The tankers now have to suck effluent from sewers in Old Uxbridge Road and truck it round to Maple Lodge Sewage Works.

Watford Observer: Dozens of tankers. Photo credit: Gagan MohindraDozens of tankers. Photo credit: Gagan Mohindra

According to Mrs Ward, 60 sewage tankers were operating around the clock last weekend.

Mrs Ward, who lives in Old Uxbridge Road, said: “I have not slept for two nights already and now the pumping operation is going right outside my house.

“The noise is horrendous and the continuous vibrations even worse.

“I am 78 years old and widowed last year, and this is just too much to bear.”

MP Gagan Mohindra said on Facebook that he is aware of the problem and has been receiving regular updates from Thames Water.

Watford Observer: Piping. Photo credit: Gagan MohindraPiping. Photo credit: Gagan Mohindra

Despite Thames Water putting in place a plan including 43 tankers and 7 pumps, heavy rainfall meant it could not control flow through West Hyde sewage pumping station and had to abort the repair.

Mr Mohindra said: “Thames Water have advised me that they need to fit an additional 1.7km pipe and maintain tanker levels at 25 a day in order to carry out the pipe repair and manage flows.

“They have apologised for the situation and have assured me that they are working hard to fix the issue as quickly as possible.”

Thames Water says there will be extra vehicles and engineers in the area while they deal with the repair.

Overflows from the pipe are being diverted away from the Maple Lodge nature reserve into a farmer’s field, with his permission.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We recognise this repair will be disruptive and we’ve sent letters to 130 properties in the immediate area to update them on our work and we’ll continue to share updates as we progress.”

Thames Water assures residents that they are working closely with The Environment Agency who are monitoring their progress and they have customer representatives at the site to liaise with and update customers.