GARDENS in Blackbird Leys were swamped in sewage last night after a vital pumping station broke, following just 20mm of weekend rainfall.

Thames Water had to take emergency action after Minchery Farm pumping station was "inundated" with water and put out of action.

Engineers were forced to pump sewage into Northfield Brook in Greater Leys, while homeowners living nearby were left to clear up stinking effluent from their lawns.

Thames Water said a "rigorous clean-up operation" was under way.

Jimmy Hayes'garden was flooded with sewage for the third time in a year, after rain pushed raw sewage back through his drains.

Mr Hayes, 69, was left staring at a film of filth covering his back garden in Windale Avenue.

He said: "It is raw sewage - sort of a grey slime.

"On Sunday, the smell was pretty awful, and apart from the stench and stink it is a health hazard.

"Sometimes my grandchildren come here, I could not let them out in the garden to play now."

The pumping station, which transfers household waste to the main sewer network and then on to a treatment works, was blocked because a high volume of fat and oil had caked the inside of sewers.

Its electrics failed after water breached the doors and shut down the entire system.

Across Oxford, Thames Water said it was "overwhelmed" with calls and sent emergency crews to deal with backed-up drains in Old Marston, Kennington and Blackbird Leys.

But homeowners have demanded the company takes action to ensure a similar situation does not happen again.

Clive Mitchell, 68, said a rain gauge in his garden showed 12mm of rain had fallen between midnight and 6am on Sunday.

He said Spindleberry Brook had gone from being a foot deep to six feet deep by Sunday morning.

Neighbour Walter Spencer, 71, said: "It has not been very nice, this has happened many times before.

"I did not feel too happy having sewage come up in your garden, it's not a nice smell."

Jim Shepherd saw the sewage going into Northfield Brook.

Mr Shepherd, 58, said: "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was absolutely amazed. There was this rather nasty sewage being pumped into the brook.

"There were a couple of large pipes leading from the pumping station into the brook and where one of them wasn't working you could see this sludge going into the water.

"There were flies everywhere."

Thames Water said it was not known how many homes were affected by sewage seeping out of back-up drains.

A Thames Water spokesman said: "Engineers had to pump diluted sewage in to Northfield Brook to enable emergency repairs to be carried out.

"This was with the full consent of the Environment Agency."

Mr Hayes said he had suffered similar overflow at least three times in the last year, and six times or more in the past five years.

He added: "They should come and sort this problem out once and for all.

"I am fed up to the back teeth with the water board and their lack of concern."