Rivers of raw sewage ran through people's gardens after a pipe burst.

A lane running alongside the homes was flooded with sewage and a pond, newly created by the spill, became home to a pair of ducks.

The burst was first noticed at 6.30pm on Monday by Mary Miles who heard water running outside her home in Bradlond Close, Bognor.

She said: "I went to investigate and saw water gushing down the pavement outside and running down the drain."

Southern Water discovered a main pipe running from a nearby sewage pumping station had burst at the foot of her garden.

Firefighters and Environment Agency officials were called and engineers were there until near to midnight when they were finally able to switch off the flow.

By then, the foot of Ms Miles' garden and two adjoining gardens had been flooded.

Contaminated water formed a pond and two ducks were swimming there yesterday morning.

A lane running alongside Ms Miles' detached house was closed to the public and Southern Water later cut down a tree in Ms Miles' garden to get access to the pipe and make repairs.

It was thought roots from the tree may have been the cause of the fracture.

Workmen were called in to clean up the gardens.

Ms Miles' partner, Brendan Sharpe, a 62-year-old retired teacher, said: "The smell was pretty localised and it wasn't quite so bad this morning.

"The flow ran down both sides of the house on to the pavement and road but it was mainly dirty water. There was a duck and its mate swimming in the mini pond at the foot of the gardens today, poor things.

"The footpath alongside the house was closed in case people and pets walked through it and picked up the mess.

"All the workmen and firefighters were very good, knocking on doors and offering advice to people."

Southern Water said it was washing the gardens with disinfectant and water.

The Environment Agency advised the water authority to wash street drains to dilute any pollution that might reach a nearby stream.

A spokeswoman said: "Samples from the stream have been taken for analysis.

"The stream looks okay and there are no signs of dead fish but we are testing it to make sure.

"Oxygen levels at the moment appear to be okay and there are no signs of any serious contamination."

The spokeswoman said local environmental health officers had been contacted to advise householders on safety measures for themselves and pets.