An angry nurse has been left with a moat at the bottom of her garden after a sewage leak near her home.

Vicki Willis, 39, has been living with a 4ft-deep hole at the end of her drive since workmen started repairing the burst sewage pipe on Christmas Eve.

The hole, now filled with rain, spans three properties in Valebridge Drive, Burgess Hill, and is about 40ft long.

She said: "I have a moat at the bottom of my garden - I'm not sure if it's a selling point for a home in Burgess Hill."

Neighbours said they were worried about children or animals falling in the hole, which is protected by wire fencing.

Mrs Willis, who has two children aged eight and five, said the family had also been unable to drink the water from taps in their home for two weeks because it was muddy.

Mrs Willis said: "Workmen come and go but nothing seems to have been done about the hole. They were here for about 15 minutes the other day.

"This is a job which should have taken about ten days."

The problem started with a burst sewer on Christmas Eve. Mrs Willis, a nurse in Haywards Heath, said sewage started pouring out of manholes, up paths and driveways and into gardens. Workmen from Southern Water arrived later that day and did not finish digging up the road until about 10pm.

Neighbours were seething when the hole was left to fill with rain over Christmas.

Mrs Willis, who has phoned Southern Water three times to complain, said the hole was a danger to residents because it made the road too narrow for many vehicles.

Buses were forced to drive partly on the pavement, while the road would not be wide enough if a fire engine or ambulance needed access.

A spokeswoman for Southern Water apologised for the length of time it had taken to sort out the problem.

She said the delay was caused by their contractors hitting a nearby water mains pipe, owned by South East Water, while carrying out repairs. The mains water supply had to be diverted to stop any risk of contamination from the sewage pipe.

Workers at South East Water expect to have their repairs completed on Monday and Southern Water expects the hole to be filled on Tuesday.