Human poo pooling outside her home in Port Glasgow has left Belle Deans feeling sick – and forced her to choose between two disgusting options as the sewage causes damp
A woman has claimed she was cut off from her own garden by a disgusting pool of human waste that left her “too ashamed” to venture outside.
Belle Deans says her home in Port Glasgow, Scotland, has become unliveable after pipework at her neighbour’s flat caused a slew of issues on the property. The issues have meant that waste, including human poo, has ended up pooling outside the back door of her property, leaving her sick.
The building excrement has plunged Belle into a stinky situation that has made even sitting inside on her couch difficult, and forced her to pick between two unbearable choices.
Belle said she’s already had to contend with putrid sewage coming up through her shower and toilet in December, which took weeks to fix, and fears it could happen again if action isn’t taken soon. Dampness in her walls, she added, is forcing her to choose between keeping the windows closed and breathing in damp air, or opening them and letting in the offensive odour of the waste from outside.
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She said: “I’m too ashamed to have anybody come and visit me here. I think all the neighbours feel the same. Even sitting on the couch, I get breathless. I was basically living in my bedroom.
“I can’t sit in there any more because of the sewage out there.” Belle believes the dampness is caused by a box gutter that overflows during heavy rain, which serves multiple flats in the close. Sickened Belle is now demanding the flat’s owners, Czech Real, take action to sort out the problem once and for all.
Belle’s landlord, Chesnutt Skeoch, and RCH, who factor a neighbouring property, are currently locked in a dispute about who is responsible for resolving the problem.
She said the situation has taken a “terrible” toll on her mental and physical health and has worsened the depression and anxiety from which she already suffers. She said she struggles to get the energy to do anything, but when she does get out, to distract herself, she says she dreads the thought of returning home.
Linda Kernican, who lives in the flat next to Belle’s, said the “disgusting” situation makes her feel ill, and the waste is “ruining” her floors Linda’s landlord, Czech Real, were contacted about the issue, but did not respond.
A spokesperson for Chesnutt Skeoch insisted that fixing the guttering which had caused the dampness was RCH’s responsibility, and said they reported the issue to the housing association on January 16. An RCH representative said: “Following notification of an issue of dampness at 26 Highholm Road, we conducted an inspection which confirmed the downpipe at number 26 is currently discharging directly into the gutter at 24 Highholm Road.
“During heavy rain, this results in significantly higher water volumes that exceed the capacity of the gutter at number 24. To rectify the impact on our factored property at 24, we have carried out minor remedial works.”
“However, our specialist has advised that the guttering at number 26 should have its own independent downpipe fitted. As we hold no ownership or factoring responsibilities for number 26, we are unfortunately unable to undertake any works at that address, where repairs remain the responsibility of the respective owners.
“We will continue to maintain the block at number 24 as necessary.”
