AN MP has backed residents' calls for action to prevent a repeat of raw sewage flash flooding in a village near York.

York Outer MP Julian Sturdy said Sawyer’s Crescent, Copmanthorpe, was flooded with several inches of sewage during a flash period of heavy rainfall in August.

"Several residents got in touch after August 8 when 31mm of rain fell in just three hours and caused both the sewerage and surface water drains to become overloaded and spill out onto the street," he said.

"Thankfully, the foul water did not enter any properties, but several residents complained that it rose to within an inch or two of their airbricks and had the rain continue any longer, a number of properties would have been spoiled."

He said there had been several previous incidents and - 'truly appalled' by what they were facing - he had written to Yorkshire Water chief executive Richard Flint and City of York Council’s Flood Risk Team to raise constituents’ concerns and find out what steps were being taken to ensure the problem did not occur again.

He said he was now arranging a further meeting with representatives from Yorkshire Water and the council, amid concerns that properties could be damaged next time, particularly as hundreds of new homes were being planned in the village as part of the Local Plan.

A resident told The Press that children had to wade through sewage during the most recent flooding, which he believed was due to over-development causing drains and sewers to be overwhelmed. "It was shocking - disgusting," he said.

A Yorkshire Water spokesman said it was still carrying out a full investigation into the flooding of August 8.

"Initial indications suggest our pumping station performed correctly on the day in question but we have since used CCTV technology to ensure other parts of our network in the area are in good order," he said.

"The flooding last month may simply have been caused by extreme rainfall but we will continue our investigations into all other potential causes to see whether there are any problems that need rectifying."