Sorting office is closed due to sewage pipe flood on Chapel Street

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A POST office is currently out of action after it was flooded.

The Royal Mail sorting office on Halstead High Street is currently closed after a blocked sewage pipe on Chapel Street caused the building to flood.

Anglian Water is currently at the scene, working to remove the blockage on Chapel Street which has caused water to come up from the sorting offices' toilets.

An Anglian Water spokesman said: "Our teams are currently working to remove a blockage in our sewer in Chapel Street, Halstead.

“We believe the blockage to have been caused by a third-party disposing items wrongfully down the drain.

"Although our teams were on site quickly, the blockage has caused some flooding to the local sorting office and surrounding area, and we are working to remove it as quickly as possible to get things back to normal.

"We clear 40,000 blockages across our network every single year – that equates to one blockage roughly every fifteen minutes.

“Of these blockages, 80 per cent are completely avoidable but cost us £19million a year to keep our sewers free of them.

"This money could ultimately be better spent elsewhere."

Residents were turned away from the sorting office due to staff being unable to access the building.

Stephanie Harris, who attempted to collect a parcel at 11am this morning said: "As we pulled round into the road the drains were over flowing but we didn't think anything of it.

"A member of staff showed me from the door and all the office is under a few inches of water he said they can't access the building at all and are not allowed to touch anything as it's suspected sewage water."

The sorting office has been contacted for a comment.