The owners of a Swindon farm were shocked to see sewage spilling out over their fields.

Shirley and John Gunther, aged 80 and 90 respectively, first spotted gallons of waste water covering the drive of Oxleaze Farm in Blunsdon just under two weeks ago.

The pensioners contacted Thames Water and expected an engineer to repair the pipe by Sunday evening, but say no-one turned up until 7pm on the Monday.

Since then, the couple feel frustrated about the lack of support available to help them deal with the aftermath of the accident.

Shirley said: "I saw it and thought 'that's not rainwater'.

"it was thick and dark brown, flooding the drive we'd just had tarmacked a few months ago, absolutely dreadful.

"My son came over and said there was a terrible smell, then we found the source - it was flowing out of a manhole.

"We called Thames Water and couldn't get through at first, then they called us back saying someone would be sent out to help.

"A man came out and spent three hours here stopping it running, then told us someone would come out to speak to us about the next steps, but that was a week ago.

"They think that they've done their bit because they've stopped the leak, but it's not enough. There should be some compensation.

"That grass is contaminated now - why should our cattle eat it? No-one else would, and the footpath is still a mess, it's not fair.

"It would have taken a long time for the sewage to come through the long grass, so who knows how long it's been leaking out.

"At least half of that field has to be left now, you won't get anyone to silage it, it stinks!"

One concerned neighbour who contacted the Adver added: "The situation is shocking, with thousands of gallons of waste causing significant distress to an elderly couple. This is absolutely disgusting."

A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We are in regular contact with Ms Gunther and have arranged an external clean of their property.

"At the same time, we are carrying out a sewer survey and will remove any blockage.

"We have expressed our apologies to Ms Gunther, and our teams are working hard to remedy the matter."