Family's disgust as sewage spews across home soaking children's school uniform
A family were disgusted after sewage spewed out of their toilet and across their home - soaking the children’s school uniform in human waste.
Tammy Samuel, 38, had “everyone’s poo and urine” flow into her home after she reported blocked drains near her home on a traveller site in Sittingbourne, Kent. But unblocking work by a council contractor backfired and projected waste out of her loo and into her bathroom in her caravan.
Many of the possessions at the home she shares with her partner and seven of her children were ruined. Despite Kent County Council (KCC) sending cleaners to deep-clean the home, it is "damp" and "cold" and without flooring which had to be removed, she said.
Tammy's bathroom after 'poo and urine' came out of her toilet (Tammy Samuel / SWNS)
Tammy said has been left 'depressed' as she now has to replace her family's possessions (Tammy Samuel / SWNS)Tammy said the cost of replacing their destroyed possessions in the run-up to Christmas has left her "so depressed". The stay-at-home-mum said: "I had everyone’s urine and poo in my home. It was a nightmare.
"The waste flooded into mine and the kids’ bedrooms too. It was in a terrible state, the smell was unbearable and I was fuming." Tammy said she reported blocked drains outside the utility room on the site to KCC on November 21, and it leaked into her home that evening.
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The mum-of-eight was told by KCC she and her children, aged between three and 16, had to leave the caravan due to hygiene concerns. Tammy said: “We had to get a taxi at 1am to my mum’s house in Milton Regis.
The sewage soaked her children’s school uniform in human waste (Tammy Samuel / SWNS)“I was told that I wasn’t allowed in my home due to the bacteria that could be found in sewage. My 11-year-old son has a rare skin condition and a weakened immune system so I was really worried about him becoming unwell as a result.”
After a deep clean the family moved back in but the lino in her bathroom and floorboards throughout her home had been lifted up and removed. Tammy, who has been living on the site since February, said: “What the cleaners left behind was still damp and it smells damp in the caravan and it feels cold.
“I have no carpet, no lino and my floorboards are still damp. I’m scared the kids will go through the floor. I don’t know what else to do. My children’s school uniform, school shoes, towels, and my pajamas that were in the bottom drawer of wooden units by the floor were all ruined.
Tammy's twins Louieann and Levi James, aged three (Tammy Samuel / SWNS)
The woman's seven-year-old twins Jack and Rihanna May (Tammy Samuel / SWNS)“Everything was sopping and damaged. The cleaners took everything that was saturated with them. I need new floor, towels, the kids’ uniform.” Tammy said KCC told her to contact charities for support and help.
She added: “I shouldn’t have to do this because it was the utility block’s drains that were blocked, not mine. I have no options now. I am really stressed out. I am a mum of eight and I don’t have the money to replace these things, especially on top of Christmas. It is horrible and it’s making me so depressed.”
She also has an 11-year-old son, Tony (Tammy Samuel / SWNS)A KCC spokesman said: “Our contractor cleared a blockage in the main drain to the utility block servicing this caravan and others on site, which had been caused by the flushing of various inappropriate items. The cause of the later problems inside the caravan are unclear. However, our contractors attended immediately and made the caravan habitable very quickly.
“In most similar cases, household insurance will cover the cost of replacing damaged goods and clothing, but none was in place in this instance. The immediate requirement is for linoleum and carpets for the caravan and shoes for the children, and we are making every effort to assist the family in acquiring these items or external funding for them.”
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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