Thames Water refuses payout for sewage flood

THAMES WATER has denied compensation to a family left knee-deep in sewage when a burst pipe flooded their home, causing £30,000 of damage.

David Benqué, from Crystal Palace in London, said he had minutes to leave the building when sewage began “gushing through the window” on Sept 14.

He was made homeless with his partner and two children, aged five and three, and forced to spend thousands clearing out the property.

Thames Water refused to compensate him for the loss, and the family do not have contents insurance.

Mr Benqué said: “We had under five minutes to wake up our kids, grab a few things and get out as the sewage gushed in. My wife had to carry out our threeyear-old and wade through the water, which was nearly at her waist. She had to have help from a firefighter as she was walking towards the current.”

Thames Water offered to clear out the property but asked the family to sign a letter saying they would not hold it responsible for the damage. The family refused and instead spent £1,500 to clean up their home independently.

They were told they were ineligible for the firm’s hardship fund because they do not claim benefits. The family lodged a claim with a loss assessor but were told before Christmas that they would not receive compensation.

Thames Water said it understood how distressing sewer flooding can be and that it sympathised with the family.

A spokesman said: “The flooding was caused by a collapsed sewer which caused sewage to spill out into nearby properties … Investigations show there were no previous issues with the sewer which would have contributed to the collapse, and as such Thames Water was not negligent and is not legally liable for the damage caused.”