SOUTH West Water says work will need to go on 24 hours a day to tackle the burst sewer main at Exminster. 

The update comes after residents complained over the last three months of a ‘terrible’ smell coming from the bypass area of the village. 

Since the issue was raised by county councillor Alan Connett who asked Teignbridge Council’s environmental health officers to investigate and inquiries by the Mid Devon Advertiser, engineers from SWW finally arrived on site on Wednesday. 

Tankers are now having to transport waste water from the site of the burst to treatment works. 

In a message to villagers, Steve Hayfield, SWW’s customer experience and delivery director, appealed for respect for the workers. 

He said: ‘Thank you for your patience over the past couple of days while we’ve been tankering in the Exminster and Countess Wear area, following a burst on our sewer main.

‘The burst is underneath the M5 bridge, so we’ve needed structural engineering advice about the bridge before proceeding with the repair. 

‘It’s been necessary to rely on tankers to transport wastewater from the site of the burst to the treatment works while we’ve been waiting for this information.

‘We will need to continue tankering through the next few days while we start the repair work. 

‘This will be a 24-hour service, so will also run through the night. 

‘You shouldn’t experience any change to your wastewater services during this time, however, you might notice odours when outside.

‘We appreciate that this is in a residential area, and we apologise for any inconvenience the tankers will cause.

‘A message from our site teams is to please respect and be kind to our teams as they are working tirelessly to keep the site and surrounding area safe.

‘Thank you for your understanding.’