A FOUNTAIN of sewage erupted out of a drain cover as a street was transformed into a revolting river of excrement.

Residents of Staplow Road, off Spetchley Road, Worcester, have even taken to parking their cars on drain covers to stop their street becoming an open sewer as the waste wells up.

The street flooded at about 6pm on Friday, sending gallons of stinking raw sewage, including excrement, condoms and sanitary products, spilling on to driveways and lawns and into garages.

Residents are now considering legal action against Severn Trent Water because they say it is the seventh time it has happened in the last three years.

One father, who did not wish to be named, had to rescue his terrified dog from the garage as sewage a foot deep ran under the door, nearly sweeping away the dog's basket.

The man, who has a nine-month-old son, also says the sewage caused more than £1,000 of damage, which he now has to claim for from his insurance.

A pushchair valued at £400 and a table and chairs valued at £200 were ruined because he refuses to use them again for health reasons after he found them floating in the sewage.

He said: "There was a river of sewage. It was absolutely disgusting. The force of the sewage pushed the manhole cover up and it was bubbling out. There were bits of excrement floating around. It was an eighth of an inch from going in my front door. This has happened seven times in the three years I've lived here. The drains just aren't big enough to cope."

Adrian Cook, aged 60, also of Staplow Road, said a lake of sewage formed at the entrance to his home.

He said: "The pipes aren't big enough. We have County Hall, the hospice and a backlog of sewage from more recent properties. The covers were just hovering off the ground. It was a fountain just coming out of the ground. We have to park our cars on top of the drains to stop it coming out."

Margaret Wren, 65, was revolted to see the sewage bubbling up in front of her kitchen window, yards from where children play football.

She said: "It has happened for years but it has got worse. We had a similar incident five weeks ago. It was dreadful. It was bubbling up right in front of my kitchen window. It's beyond a joke. We couldn't even see the kerbs, it was so high. There was stuff coming out of there I have never seen in my life before."

Her husband Des, 71, said Severn Trent had done a good job of clearing up the mess but more long-term investment was needed in the sewage pipes. He said: "There's too much sewage for the pipes. You don't have to be Einstein to work it out. You need a bigger pipe."

The mess was cleared up by Severn Trent at 9am on Saturday. A spokesman for the firm said: "We understand the sewage flooding is completely unacceptable and horrible for our customers. We really do sympathise. This just isn't good enough.

"We will now do some investigation work. We were out very quickly to clean up. With regards to future decisions about pipes we will have to investigate further to see if we can do any work. That will now be ongoing."