SOUTHERN Water has apologised to residents after flooding at Bulverhythe led to waste being redirected to the pumping station at Galley Hill.
As a result, tankers have been besieging the town day and night since Friday to collect waste from the Galley Hill pumping station in order to prevent any possibility of an overflow into the sea.
The waste is being transported to other waste sites to be disposed of to ensure there is no prospect of an environmental disaster.
However, residents have been complaining about the seemingly never-ending noise of tankers travelling down Bolebrooke Road at all hours of the day and night as they make their way to the pumping station on the seafront in Bexhill.
A spokesman for Southern Water said. “First and foremost we want to apologise to the residents of Bexhill but we had to ensure there was no danger of spillage into the sea.
“The operation to remove the waste and transport it to another facility should be completed by Monday.
“The Bulverhythe pump station had to be shut down so that repair work could be carried out after flooding due to a burst sewage pipe on Friday, but we are working day and night to ensure the issue is resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“I want to emphasise that there have been no spillages and the red flags installed on the beach in Bexhill were installed by Rother District Council purely as a precaution. It was their decision to do so.”
The cost of the tankers is rumoured to be £1,000 to £1,200 each depending on their size, so it has clearly been an expensive operation for Southern Water.
However, Howard Martin, president of Bexhill Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, is still furious.
He said: “Bexhill feels like a town under siege. It has been like a military operation and has disrupted residents’ lives once again.
“Where are out politicians? Once again they are missing in action. When there is an incident like this we need to know what is going on quickly. Initially we had no idea what was happening and that is not good enough.
“Southern Water must be held to account when things go wrong.”
