ENVIRONMENT chiefs are battling a flood of raw sewage in a Hampshire village.

Farmers have been unable to harvest their crops because of a “risk to human health”.

The “river of waste” happened after a sewer collapsed last Thursday close to Posbrook Lane in Titchfield.

It flooded gardens, roads and farmland, even threatening the nearby Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve.

More than 30 tankers were sent to pump waste from the scene.

One farmer has had to move his flock of sheep. He said he found two of his flock dead although he could not pinpoint the cause.

Neil Cairns from Great Post Farm said: “The situation is a shambles. The sewage has been running down the roads and across our fields. We have had to move our sheep. We found two dead sheep on Monday morning. It looks like a river.

“We have had to stop harvesting because it is a risk to human health. The smell is unbelievable.”

According to Southern Water, it is working to carry out repairs and is liaising with the Environment Agency, local authorities and the nature reserve.

A spokesperson for the company said: “We’re working hard to mitigate any impact to the environment and are managing wastewater flows.

"Tankers are on-site to assist and we’re doing everything we can to be resilient, with the difficult weather ahead.

“We appreciate that ongoing emergency works such as this can be frustrating, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. We will continue to update customers as we finalise our work to repair the collapsed sewer.”

The spokesman added: “The sewer burst at Posbrook Lane in Titchfield has been a huge operational task. We apologise to customers and greatly appreciate their patience while we carry out this complex repair.

“We've been working collaboratively throughout with the Environment Agency and Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve to mitigate any environmental impact.

“We appreciate the disruption to landowners in the area and have had no reports of damage to livestock."

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “Our investigation into a collapsed sewer in Titchfield last week continues, and we are working with Southern Water to limit any risk of pollution.

“Anyone with any concerns on this incident or any other report of pollution are encouraged to call our 24-hour emergency hotline: 0800 807060.”