A pensioner who kicked up a stink after living with an almost constant stream of raw sewage at the bottom of his Oxford garden now knows the cause of the problem.

In 2006, Noel Hodson started keeping a record of events when he noticed sewage in Boundary Brook, which runs through the back garden of his home in Brookside, Headington.

Since then, he claims to have recorded 75 separate occasions when sewage has flowed into the brook — on average, once every 10 days.

The company, which maintains the sewers, said wrongly connected drains had caused raw sewage to flow into the brook.

Finally, after two years complaining to Thames Water, Mr Hodson has been vindicated in his attempts to get the problem looked at. But he is still unhappy as the issue remains unsolved.

Mr Hodson, 65, said: "It stinks to high heaven. There was an incident a few weeks ago where neighbours could smell it all the way up from the London Road.

"It's a lot of sewage. It's not just one little build up, sometimes it flows for two hours.

"There has been several times when guests have gone home because of it — we are at the end of our tether.

"Thames Water told us the problem wouldn't continue past the end of May.

"I would dearly like to know what they are doing to try and stop this."

Other roads in Headington also affected by the problem, include Bickerton Road, All Saints Road and Highfield Avenue, where the brook runs through gardens and under properties.

Bickerton Road resident Carolyn Scruttonsaid: "Obviously there is a health hazard of having an area of your garden with sewage flowing through it.

"It's unpleasant to go and start gardening. It's obviously a very large quantity of sewage that is coming down."

Adrian Hopkins, of Highfield Avenue, said: "It seems it's been going on forever. I've got a 6ft wall that separates me from Noel's property, but there have been a number of times when you can smell it." Thames Water said the initial problem was caused by a section of pipes connected incorrectly along Windmill Road.

However, it said an investigation into the cause of the problem was continuing.

City councillor David Rundle, who represents Headington, said: "There's a lot of frustration from residents and councillors and it's reached boiling point.

"Quite frankly, Thames Water don't know the details of their own drainage system."

A Thames Water spokesman said: "Our investigation to determine potential causes of contamination in Boundary Brook has involved reconnecting a section of the local network's foul water system, which was incorrectly plumbed into the surface water drainage system leading to the brook, sewer cleaning, extensive CCTV surveys and checking for misconnections.

"Although this has helped stem pollution levels, we're aware there's still evidence of contaminants entering the brook."

The company said it has received 19 complaints from residents since May last year and is now working with a pollution specialist to solve the issue.