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Sewage erupting through toilet bowl and kitchen taps making Fort William family sick

Jade Simpson and Gavin McPhee in their home which has been flooded with raw sewage on several occasions.
Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson
Jade Simpson and Gavin McPhee in their home which has been flooded with raw sewage on several occasions. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

A family plagued by recurring sewage eruptions in their home are using industrial air fresheners to mask the smell of rotten eggs.

Raw sewage pouring into her house at Inverlochy, Fort William, is literally making mum-of-two Jade Simpson sick, she says.

Blackwood Housing and Care, the landlord, has blamed the five year saga on non-flushable wipes in the system.

But Jade – who is registered blind – says she believes the pipes are too narrow for a modern family home.

Jade has had three different carpets destroyed by sewage flooding into the house. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

The nightmare began in 2017 when her eldest son went for a shower. Young Connor, now 11, was faced with human faeces coming up through the plughole.

Jade, 31, and Connor’s dad Gavin McPhee, 34, could only watch in horror as the excrement covered the bathroom. It even affected rooms throughout the house, including the childrens’ bedrooms and the living room.

Since then, she says, it has happened time and time again in the two-bedroom bungalow.

They want to move house

Jade suffers from the condition septo-optic dysplasia with deteriorating sight.

Now she wants to be moved to another house.

Jade said: “I can tell when it’s about to happen. You can hear it bubbling up in the pipes.

Sewage backs up into the toilet bowl
Sewage backs up into the toilet bowl in the house.

“The sewage comes up through the drains. My toilet bowl fills up with faeces. It just stops short of coming into the kitchen sink but I can hear and smell it rising up.

“I have been diagnosed with a stomach condition called helicobacter pylori, from exposure to sewage. It causes sickness and diarrhoea on a daily basis.

“It started coming through our kitchen taps, we couldn’t even drink water.”

The first incident was blamed on a blockage. When the same thing happened again, Jade says plumbers discovered a kink in the pipes. She believes the pipes are too narrow for a modern house.

Sewage seeped throughout the house

She said: “My family and I were decanted again because the sewage eruption was so bad it seeped through the entire contents of the house, including the wooden flooring. We have been living above the sewage making me, Gavin, and my children very unwell.”

Major works were carried out during a five-month period. When they finally returned home, they thought the problem was fixed.

The sinks have also backed up with filthy water.
The sinks have also backed up with filthy water.

But Jade said: “More and more eruptions keep happening to this day, the last one being on December 12.

“We are scared to shower, do dishes, use the toilet and cook.”

Blackwood Housing and Care said they have “regularly and successfully” carried out repairs to the house and have “taken every action necessary to resolve any issues identified by Jade”.

Doug Moyes, customer services director, said: “Throughout all of our services, the wellbeing and safety of customers is of paramount importance to us and that is no different with this case.

Jade and her family won’t be eating their Christmas dinner at the house. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

“On a number of occasions the identified cause has been a build-up of non-flushable wipes.

“However last week, the extreme cold caused the waste pipe from Jade’s toilet to freeze and block.

“We arranged for a contractor to attend urgently – and the issue was repaired that evening. No waste escaped from the toilet.

“We also provided emergency accommodation in a nearby hotel while this repair took place to reduce any disruption. The family were able to return to their property within hours.

Housing demand in Fort William

“We are committed to working and supporting Jade to achieve her ambition of moving home.

“As we do not offer any other housing options in Fort William or the surrounding area, that move will have to be with another housing association or the council.”

A spokeswoman for Highland Council said: “We encourage clients to contact their housing association or landlord direct about repairs.

“Demand for affordable housing in the Fort William area is very high, particularly for larger accessible properties.

“The council continues to work with all Highland Housing Register partners to allocate homes on a housing needs-basis and to support applicants with their housing options.”

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