Dangerous raw sewage spewed from a Government tank ? sparking a health alert in Frog Lane.

Fed-up residents have had to endure an offensive stench and piles of muck in their back yards for more than a month.

The overflowing tank services the Prospect area. Among those affected is Terry Flood, who told a stream of raw sewage was running through his garden.

Mr. Flood said he has tried to contact area MP Glenn Blakeney to have the mess cleaned up but had been unable to reach him.

Yesterday, the Department of Health assured residents it would be investigating immediately.

"It's best for residents to err on the side of caution, we will be down there as soon as possible to investigate and put together some facts on the situation," said Environmental Officer Eric Martin.

Mr. Flood, who chairs the management committee of the Frog Lane homes, said Government should not leave residents to deal with the mess.

He has called Works and Engineering but has had no response.

"This is a health hazard, its very dangerous since the overflow is sitting in an area close to homes ? residents are fed up and we need it to be cleaned up immediately, there's quite a bit of this stuff which has been left," said Mr. Flood. "It's very unpleasant, it's summer and we can't even barbecue."

"Some people in the area are getting sick, we can't open our doors and windows particularly at night. We've tried for weeks to get someone down here but they keep telling us its not their line. The last time it happened the UBP was in power, they cleaned it up right away, no charge to us, we need that to happen again."

Mr. Flood said residents were not sure what steps to take since they could not clean up the sewage themselves.

"It's contaminating the grass and it's disrupting everything that is happening in the neighbourhood ? the Cable Vision guys came to lay down the lines underground and they couldn't because the sewage was all over the grass, they couldn't finish the job," he said.

Mr. Blakeney could not be reached by for comment. On Wednesday, an overflow at the Boaz Island sewage pit sent an alert to swimmers and boaters when an overflow in the Wedco tank on the property contaminated water in shoreline areas with raw sewage. Raw sewage can pose serious health risks since it can carry disease and infect open wounds.

Wedco, a Government quango which manages the sewage treatment plant for the condos, blamed a faulty pump in the tank and assured residents of area that it would be repaired immediately.

The Department of Health has posted signs forbidding people from swimming at Chamber Bay and Boaz Bay near Woody's drive where the raw sewage was floating.

Mr. Martin said Wedco installed the new pumps yesterday to prevent sewage from polluting the areas.

"The offensive stench is no longer in the area and the Department of Health is carrying out sea samples of the water until we are satisfied that this is no longer a public health risk," he said.