A BLACKPOOL hotelier is fuming after sewage water flooded his basement.

Steve Whitemore, of the Tremadoc Hotel, is steadily losing business after filthy, yellow water began seeping into the basement of his Dickson Road property in October last year.

And six months on he's had to kick up a real stink to try and resolve the situation which leaves his fridge and freezer standing in two inches of the smelly liquid.

Steve may also have to cough up £20,000 of his own money to fix the problem.

"It's absolutely disgusting. The fridge and freezer are frequently standing in water which rises to about two inches deep and smells like sewage," says Steve.

"My partner and I used to sleep in the basement bedroom but we've moved to one of the hotel rooms, which is obviously costing us money. This will add up to quite a lot over the season."

Blackpool Borough Council's initial investigations on behalf of United Utilities highlighted a collapsed pipe near to the 10-bedroomed property in Dickson Road. This showed that the sewers were not faulty but failed to establish whether certain pipes belonged to the hotel or were shared.

So Steve paid £2,000 to a council-recommended contractor who dug a six-foot hole in the footpath outside his hotel and, when no further clues were found, filled it in again.

Steve then paid another £800 to have the basement's bathroom water supply drained out, an alternative pump system fitted and the drain in the basement sealed.

But two weeks later, the foul-smelling, yellow stuff was again running down the walls. "This and other pointers indicate that the intermittent flooding is due to another source," insists Steve.

Properties each side of the Tremadoc Hotel have suffered similar problems and tenants in the adjoining flats have complained about the smell.

"I've consulted the Environmental Health Dept, United Utilities and insurance companies, but I can't seem to get any further," said Steve.

"United Utilities want proof that it's a shared pipe. The only way to do this is to dig up part of Dickson Road. And the cost of the work, disruption and subsequent traffic diversions, etc would be around £20,000, which I would have to pay."

Steve has explained his plight to Coun Ivan Taylor, Claremont ward councillor and Mayor-elect, who is aiming to set up a meeting of all parties involved.

A spokesman for Blackpool Borough Council's Environmental Services Department confirmed that the property has again been visited this week.

"We are currently investigating the problem with a view to identifying the cause and establishing whether or not it is drainage-related," he said.

"Then we'll be able to look into whose responsibility it is for the cost of whatever work may be involved to put it right."