A NEEDHAM Market businesswoman today pledged to go to prison rather than pay her water rates unless a "health-hazard" sewage leak is sorted out.Carol Cook, joint manager of Costume Call, is one of a number of disgruntled traders in Station Yard demanding action to cure the problem.

A NEEDHAM Market businesswoman today pledged to go to prison rather than pay her water rates unless a "health-hazard" sewage leak is sorted out.

Carol Cook, joint manager of Costume Call, is one of a number of disgruntled traders in Station Yard demanding action to cure the problem.

Her call follows a burst that saw raw sewage pumped out of an overflowing drain, causing a massive stench in the surrounding area at the end of last week.

The problem was dealt with by the town council, at around 4pm on Saturday, but it is the latest in a long line of incidents to dog traders.

Mrs Cook said the drains overflow periodically, but nothing seems to be done to solve it.

She said: "There's no point doing something about it if no one gets to the root of the problem, which is people throwing fat and grease down the drains.

"If we clean out the drains, they'll only get blocked again a few months later. No one seems to have the authority to do anything about it so there's nothing to stop it happening again.

"I'm not going to pay my water rates if they don't sort this out and I've said I'll go to prison over this."

Jean Edrich, owner of Simply Splendid, added: "It's just the fact that it's a health hazard and it's been going on for a long time.

"This is a really busy time of year for us and we don't want people coming in and talking about the drains all of the time."

Anglian Water said they would take action to solve the problem if it affected public drains, but could do nothing to deal with a private network.

Mid Suffolk District Council has intervened but has yet to formally identify the business causing the problem.

John Grayling, environment control manager, admitted the council has its suspicions about who is blocking the drains and said they have been "strongly advised" to take preventative measures.

But he said the law prevents them from forcing the business to install grease traps, even though this has been identified as the major cause.

Mr Grayling added the council is currently looking into a more "long term" solution for the area.

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