Exclusive:"They just want to play": Sheffield mum’s heartbreak over children’s new garden flooded with sewage

A mum-of-three says her family has been left “devastated” after a surge of sewage flooded her newly renovated garden, leaving it unsafe for her young children to use.

She said her young children are struggling to understand why they can no longer play in their own garden just days after the re-vamp was completed.

The woman, who lives in the Crystal Peaks area, had spent £10,000 transforming the space into a safe place for her two-year-old triplets.

But shortly after the work was finished, a surge of sewage left the garden contaminated with waste.

The mum said she was told the cause was a combination of tree roots growing into underground pipes and a large build-up of fat and debris.

Yorkshire Water workers reportedly told the family the blockage had built up over years.

“The boys don’t understand. They keep asking to go outside. They were so excited, they watched it being built, and now we have to tell them they can’t play there - it’s heartbreaking,” the mum said.

The incident happened on April 15, when heavy rainfall overwhelmed the sewer system.

The mum believes the issue should have been prevented, especially as it had been raised before, with neighbours experiencing similar problems.

One nearby resident said sewage had previously contaminated their pond, killing fish.

“We finished the garden on the Sunday. The boys were out there for about 30 minutes, running around, loving it. Then we had to bring them in because of all the faeces,” the worried mum said.

“I broke my back putting all the stones down, just for it to be ruined.”

She had designed the space to make life easier caring for three toddlers.

“It’s hard to take them all out to parks – they’re three boisterous boys,” she said.

“This was meant to be somewhere safe where they could just play.”

Now, , that independence has been taken away, she said.

“The first thing they do is run to the garden, and we have to stop them, they don’t understand why they can’t go out anymore,” she said.

The situation is particularly worrying for one of her sons, who has respiratory problems and recently underwent surgery.

“He can’t be exposed to faeces – it’s dangerous for his lungs,” the mum said.

She also fears contamination being brought back into the house.

“We’ve got a small dog as well. If he got out there, he’d bring it back in,” she added.

Yorkshire Water attended after the flood, but the worried mum said the clean-up was not enough.

“They swept it back into the manhole, but there’s still sewage everywhere, the whole garden smells. It’s stuck in the grass,” she said.

She added that she was told the clean-up carried out was the most that could be done.

Despite being informed the issue was caused by faults within the sewer system, she claims she has been advised to go through her home insurance if she wants further cleaning.

“They’ve said what caused it, so why should we go through insurance?” she asked.

She estimates it could cost around £5,000 to fully replace the contaminated materials, including artificial grass, stone and drainage.

For now, she says the biggest impact is on her children.

“They don’t get it – they just want to play in their garden,” she said.

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson, said: "Following a blockage report from customers our team was on site where the reported blockage was found to be tree root ingress into the sewer, aggravated by a fats, oil and grease build up in the wastewater pipes, causing the sewer to overflow into gardens.

"The blockage was cleared, and our team cleaned the area. We will also be lining the section of sewer to prevent further tree root ingress in the future.

“We have also requested our specialist partner Rainbow, to provide a further deep clean to provide reassurance.

"We understand this has been distressing for customers and we are working closely with them to restore the garden."