A Hatfield family has discovered they have been living above a pool of their own excrement for 13 years - which they claim may have caused their daughter's premature death.

Stacey Pearson moved into a house in Birchwood with her family of eight in 2009. The allocation was based on medical grounds as she had a daughter with both Down's syndrome and a heart condition.

Her child’s doctors stressed in letters to Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council that the girl could not be around black mould and anything which might risk her health.

The allocated property had a downstairs wet room, but shortly after moving in the family noticed a foul stench in the room and notified the council to get something done.

Despite numerous complaints no action was taken and WHBC staff said there was nothing wrong with the room.

Eventually after raw sewage came up through the shower hole, covering the entire bathroom floor in human waste, they were told that a camera would be put down to investigate.

But Stacey revealed: “They never came back and put a camera down the shower. They never cleaned the wet room. They told us not to touch it but they never came back. So I had to clean it myself because I have children and I didn’t want that all over my bathroom floor."

Tragically her daughter passed away from sepsis in 2018, just nine days before her ninth birthday, the cause of which was unknown.

During renovations to her kitchen, she was advised by a workman to have someone from the council remove a box behind the toilet covering the pipes to see if this could identify the source of the smell.

Eventually, on Tuesday July 26, a council contractor removed the box, releasing what she describes as a “horrendous smell” and revealing that there was no cap on the main sewage pipe.

“So, every time anyone flushed the toilet, the sewage would run underneath the bathroom floor and has done so for 13 years," Stacey said.

According to Stacey, WHBC instructed their contractor to wrap tape around the hole, but this fell off as the pipe was soaking wet. “We’ve got sewage pouring out this hole and to the back of my toilet. They just left it that way. They walked out of the house and never came back.

“This has been the case since the day I moved into the house. Every repair I’ve reported has taken months or years to actually come out and do it.

“Honestly, all I want is a functioning house. I don’t want to be moved to another house. We’ve lived here 13 years and our children grew up here and they have memories of their sister who isn’t here anymore. They don’t want to move but I don’t' think we should be here while the work is going on.

“It’s been sheer misery and hell living in this house. I dread the day I signed that tenancy. I wish to God I didn’t do that. I really do,” Stacey added.

Over the years the whole family have taken multiple sick days due to severe stomach bugs and Stacey believes the fetid faeces they have been living with is the reason behind both their sicknesses and their daughter's death.

She said: “I’ve got two small babies in this house. I’ve lost a child already, due to some strange form of sepsis. I work but I am on maternity leave so I’m obviously not getting my full wage. I don’t get any help with benefits. We pay everything ourselves and I’m sitting here in shock that I’ve paid for everything all this time and I’m basically paying for a house that has killed my child. I believe that’s why she died and I feel heartbroken that I moved her here.

“I don’t understand why they didn’t move that box prior to moving me in and checked that the pipe was sealed. I feel like I have lost so much since I’ve moved into this property. My children are still living here, as well as my grandchild,” Stacey said.

%image(14499231, type="article-full", alt=""The council have ignored me every time I‘ve told them that there is a really bad smell. Then send in people that don’t do anything. It really infuriates me. We’ve been paying rent for 13 years just to live over our own poo."")

A spokesperson for WHBC responded: “We apologise unreservedly to Ms Pearson as this is absolutely not what any of our tenants should have to put up with. An issue with a stack pipe has been identified and engineers have been out on Friday August 5, to carry out some of the necessary work. Further work will then be required to the floor and walls, and that was booked in for Monday August 8. We will continue to work with Ms Pearson until the issues are fully resolved.”