A FURIOUS city man claims water giant Severn Trent left him in the deep end after refusing to remove raw sewage flushed into his home by the floods.

David Morgan said condoms and nappies were washed into his garden when a man hole cover in his road was lifted off the drains on Thursday by rising floodwater.

The 58-year-old said the water company offered 'too little too late' after he and neighbours rang an emergency number after contaminated waste entered his home.

"As soon as it happened we phoned the company and asked them to come and remove the worst," he said.

"We were told they could not do anything due to the flooding, so we got on to the health authority later in the week which forced the company to come out to us.

He added that by the time Severn Trent arrived the water level had dropped leaving the debris on the ground.

"The operator of the pumps said it could not be got up because sucking gravel or earth would have ruined the pump," said Mr Morgan, of Diglis Avenue, Diglis.

"So you can imagine what we were left with and were told by workmen 'This is the best we can do so you will have to do the rest.'"

He added he was convinced the situation showed the water company had not made plans and could not cope with the emergency. He added neighbours in his road had also been badly hit, many losing prized possessions.

"They did everything wrong and then tried to pass their responsibly on to us to clear it," he said.

Steve Hodgson, spokesman for Severn Trent, said he understood how frustrating the situation was but stressed the company could not take action until the water had subsided.

"Our job is to clear up after the water has gone, a job we take very seriously," he said.

"That is why we went out on Sunday with a tanker.

''We cannot clear flood water as its river water and we would have no where to pour it."

* Storm tanks unable to cope

RAW sewage may have been pumped into the river at Worcester this week because storm tanks overflowed, a senior Severn Trent official has admitted.

Richard Clinton, the operations manager for the company's western region, told Worcester city councillors last night that waste was flushed away when the city's four storm tanks could not cope.

"It happens up to 20 times a year," Mr Clinton said.

"We may have had a discharge today. But the debris, such as faecal matter and sanitary ware, is sifted out in screening beforehand.

"The theory goes that the 'liquor' is so diluted that the river can take the discharge."

He said the Lower Wick sewage plant dealt with 35 million litres of waste water every day - on average about 85 gallons for every person living in Worcester.

Mr Clinton was attending Worcester's environmental health sub-committee to explain how Severn Trent would reduce smells given off by the plant. Fourteen residents have lodged complaints this year.

"We've commissioned an 'odour map', which focuses on the areas for capital improvements," said Mr Clinton.

The researchers pinpointed the tanker reception area, disgester feedwell and sludge thickening plant as the places where smells were given off.

Mr Clinton described the Lower Wick treatment works - which were built in Victorian times - as now "state of the art" but added that the company intended to spend another £300,00 in February.

Coun Colin Bruton asked if the end result would be a less powerful smell, or a fragrant aroma.

"The industry has tried masking sewage odours, but it doesn't work," Mr Clinton said.

"Nobody likes the smell of sewage masked with the smell of roses. Our scheme should reduce the odour when we have introduced an Activated Sludge Plant."