HOUSEHOLDERS who bought their council homes on the Staghills estate in Newchurch could face a bill to repair a sewer which is causing effluent to run through the area.

Rossendale Council is investigating the source of the problem, which results in effluent running down a car park and into the grounds of Lea Bank and ultimately into the River Irwell.

The council is currently half way through checking drains which serve the 200-house estate.

Hareholme councillor Mollie Disley said: "When it rains badly the drains can't cope with the volume and it backs up .

"Then the surface water and effluent mix together and go over the car park at the bottom of Woodside Crescent and spill over into Lea Bank.

"Eventually it ends up in the River Irwell."

United Utilities has been informed but claimed the sewers were private and so not its responsibility.

The estate is a mix of private and council-owned homes and so, depending on where the problem is, some householders may have to foot the bill.

Coun Disley said: "I have had quite a few complaints from people living locally and I got a lot of complaints when people used to be allowed to walk through the grounds of Lea Bank because the stench was horrible."

Borough housing and environmental health officer David Taylor said: "There are about 200 properties affected by this and we are currently half-way through the survey exercise.

"We are testing all the manholes on the estate to try to identify where the blockages occur. As soon as we have identified exactly where the problem is and which properties are affected the next step will be to look at what the cost of remedial work is going to be and each of the owners will have to pay their share."

He said it was impossible to say how much the work might cost until the exact nature of the problem had been identified.

Mr Taylor said the pollution which was getting into the Irwell would be very dilute by the time it got to the river but it was a problem which needed addressing.