Hayley MaceVillagers living near Lowestoft are being urged to think before they flush after a blockage caused sewage to flood a pond, killing dozens of fish.Hayley Mace

Villagers living near Lowestoft are being urged to think before they flush after a blockage caused sewage to flood a pond, killing dozens of fish.

Dozens of fish which were living in the village pond at Barkis Meadow, off Market Lane, in Blundeston, have died after the pond was filled with dirty water after a sewage leak.

John Nicholls, chairman of Blundeston and Flixton Parish Council, said: 'There was an awful smell on Sunday and I soon realised it was sewage leaking.

'Engineers from Anglian Water came out straight away and tried to sort it out and we were told that there had been a blockage in the foul water system.

'Sadly most of the fish in the pond had been killed. There were some big carp in there, and some roach, which are now dead. There were also some goldfish, which people had put in the pond.'

He added: 'Every time a new planning application comes out, we complain about the sewage system, which was put in during the 1960s.

'It is inadequate for all the extra development which has occurred in and around the village; we keep having blockages. People need to be particularly careful about what they flush down their toilet.'

A spokesman for Anglian Water said: 'A number of crews attended a sewer blockage in Blundeston and cleaned it up with help from the Environment Agency.

'It is a timely reminder to every one to take more notice of what they put down their toilets.'