Sewage runs through streets
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to their health.
The chip shops, surf clothing stores, boutiques and tourism shops along the busy main street made queasy efforts to minimise damage from the footfall.
Holiday-makers arriving by train, stepping off the bus or walking from one of the many hotels on Narrowcliff were hit by the stench, which did nothing for Newquay’s image.
One tourist seen walking through the muck was heard to mutter sarcastically; “huh, welcome to Newquay.”
Business owner Olli Streeter of La Familia Tattoo Studio said the torrent of sewage had cost him a lot of business.
“We are normally busy on a Monday but we have lost business today. As a tattoo parlour we can’t have people walking stuff into the shop. The traffic has been held up and the smell is so bad we have had to shut the door.
“It’s terrible but no one came for ages. This happened a few days before and once a few years ago, it’s not good enough.”
The sewage started overflowing on Sunday evening when heavy rains hit Newquay, but when South West Water arrived they found they were unable to clear the blockage without specialist equipment.
Disgusted business owner Roland Smith from Cod End Fish Shop criticised the protracted effort to fix the problem which began on Sunday.
Speaking at midday, he said: “Three man holes are overflowing, the sewage is coming up so fast the covers have been pushed off. I have seen one man and a few children trip into them.There is a terrible smell and people are walking through it and then treading it all over town.This is a health hazard, I phoned South West Water at 8.15am and it is still not fixed.”
Cliff Road also suffered from a sewage flooding on Thursday, August 19, a spokesperson from South West Water said on Monday: “We received reports of a sewer blockage on Cliff Road, Newquay, on Thursday. Our contractors investigated this on the same evening, and cleared two separate obstructions.
“The blockage appears to have been caused by a build up of cooking fat and grease, possibly from commercial catering. South West Water spends over £1 million each year to remove up to 3,000 tonnes of solidified fat from the region’s sewers.
"This can result in as many as 3,500 blockages a year. South West Water would like to apologise to any customers who have been inconvenienced as a result of this work.”
