A COUNCILLOR has called for legal action to be taken against a council deparment after months of inaction over the leaking of sewage water onto a street.

Lee Scordis, Colchester councillor for Old Heath and the Hythe, had initially called on Anglian Water to address the “serious health issue” in Haven Road.

He says a drain in the road has been spewing out unpleasant liquid for years, but nothing has been done to fix the issue.

Since first raising the problem in March, Mr Scordis has established it is Essex Highways which owns the drain.

But he remains frustrated in his bid to address the issue.

Gazette: The leaking drain at the HytheThe leaking drain at the Hythe

In addition to the environmental risks, Mr Scordis believes the neglected drain only furthers the negative stigma attached to the Hythe area.

“It is also naturally eroding the pavement and it smells quite bad when you are near it or if you have to walk through it,” he said.

“The Environmental Agency said it was not sewage but you only need to stand there to smell the sewage.

“The drain itself is owned by Essex Highways. They have added it to their endless list of repairs and do not see it as a priority.”

He added: "I have now called on Colchester Council's environmental protection team to begin legal proceedings against Essex Highways on this issue.

“There is clearly a health issue with sewage being discharged from here and Essex Highways are making no efforts to stop this.”

In March, a spokesman for Anglian Water said: "This is a highways drain – we’re aware of the issues with it, but it’s not our asset so there’s nothing we can do on it.

"None of our surface water drainage goes into this one."

An Essex Highways spokesman said: “We are carrying out further investigation works to identify the source of the issue.

“Based on the outcome of this investigation, we will come up with an engineering solution.

“It is important to point out that the liquid coming from the drain is not sewage.”