HOUSEHOLDERS say the noise from roadworks in part of Felixstowe is today so bad it has forced them to abandon the front rooms of their homes.Major problems have struck the sewerage system in Walton - and it could be weeks before they are solved.

HOUSEHOLDERS say the noise from roadworks in part of Felixstowe is today so bad it has forced them to abandon the front rooms of their homes.

Major problems have struck the sewerage system in Walton - and it could be weeks before they are solved.

Motorists are facing a headache getting through Walton High Street, with the road reduced to one lane and temporary traffic lights causing long tailbacks at times.

Residents though are having to put up with constant pumping and drilling and some have moved into the back of the properties to escape the noise.

One householder said: “The noise has been absolutely awful.

“We have had to close up our front rooms because we cannot use them and move into the back - we just hope they find the blockage soon.”

The first task facing Anglian Water contractors Claret Civil Engineering is to find the where the area's underground sewers have become blocked . . . before they can start curing the blockage.

It could be anywhere over a 700 metre stretch of pipes leading down Walton High Street and along Maidstone Road as far as the railway bridge.

A spokeswoman for AW said at this stage it was not known how long the work would take.

“At first we thought it was a problem with the rising main pump, which is hidden just under the road surface, but that was working fine,” she said.

“What appears to have happened is that there is a major blockage of the sewer pipe somewhere in the area or that part of the sewer has collapsed.

“The first task is to find out where that has happened before we can begin the deal with it.”

Workers, who are digging down five metres to reach the sewer before sending in closed-circuit TV cameras along the pipes, were not anticipating having to dig up the whole of the two roads and confident the CCTV cameras will pinpoint the problem.

“Once the blockage is found, they can close the first excavation and move their works and dig at the blocked site in order to repair the sewer. It is a big job and a slow one and we apologise for the inconvenience to people in the area,” added the spokeswoman

Meanwhile, AW says it is fine for people to flush their toilets and use their baths.

A tanker is visiting several times a day in order to pump out and take away the sewage.

How is the work affecting you? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk