A BOLTON dad is kicking up a stink after his family - including a 20-month-old baby - was left mopping up the tears when their sewers burst. Barry Holmes is now threatening legal action against North West Water, after a leaky sewer pipe burst in the back yard of his Hughes Street, Halliwell, home. Mr Holmes, a 32-year-old caterer, claims NWW ignored his pleas for help after the pipe became blocked.

The angry dad, whose girlfriend Norma Stephenson is expecting their second child in three weeks time, claims they have been left without any sewer pipes for more than a week.

"My pregnant girlfriend has been forced to carry heavy buckets into the back street when I'm not at home and empty them down the drains.

"Everything smells horrible. The whole back yard is dug up and I've been forced to bring in independent contractors to sort it out.

"North West Water are supposed to treat this as an emergency and I thought they would, seeing as a baby also lives here.

"The whole situation is ridiculous. There are holes all over the front garden and back just full of sewerage. Contractors for North West Water finally turned up a week later and told the independent workers to carry on.

"They admit that the problem has been caused because they cracked the sewer pipe a few months ago when they put down new water pipes in Hughes Street.

" But I want compensation. We have been going through hell this week."

A spokesman for North West Water said that the company had acted immediately to Mr Holmes complaint.

"We acted within a day. The only drawback was that our contractor took 24 hours to turn up, but unfortunately they had to prioritise and other jobs had to be done beforehand.

"Our contractors have given the go-ahead to the independent contractors to carry on the work and we'll pick up the bill."

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