RAW human sewage has been pouring into a beck, leaving hundreds of fish dead and the surrounding area contaminated with potentially hazardous waste.

Residents of Colburn, near Catterick Garrison, were horrified to discover the waste pouring out of a man hole on Monday, flowing straight into the nearby Sour Beck, near the Woodside Chase estate in the town.

Paul Kelstrup said he and his partner took photographs and notified Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency straight away, and despite officials coming out to view the scene, the waste was still there on Friday.

Mr Kelstrup said: "It is disgusting. It absolutely stinks and there is human toilet waste everywhere. When we first discovered the leak it was coming out like a volcano, but despite the leak being stopped earlier in the week, nothing has been cleared up.

"On Thursday we saw hundreds, if not thousands of dead fish, which is seriously worrying. There is a reason sewage is normally kept underground – because it is hazardous.

"There is about 30 square metres of waste, and we have made multiple calls to the agencies but it is still there. We were told a clean up team would be here on Friday lunchtime but by the end of the day there was still no one there."

It is believed the beck is a subsidiary to the River Swale.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “We are investigating reports of sewage pollution in Sour Beck, near Catterick. Our officers are out on the ground, assessing any potential impacts, and we have been working with Yorkshire Water to ascertain causes."

"Anyone who sees any environmental problems that may have been caused by pollution please report it to our incident hotline on 0800-807060 so we can investigate."