KIDLINGTON residents are celebrating after Thames Water took ownership of their sewers.

In the past, residents have been flooded out and have had to organise and pay for repair work, no matter where the problems originated.

They bought their own pumps, built sumps in their gardens and spent thousands of pounds fixing pipes.

But from today water and sewage companies across the country take over responsibility for the work, after the Government passed legislation in June.

About 50 per cent of homes nationally will have their sewers taken over, but everyone’s bills will rise slightly to pay for the scheme.

For residents in Kidlington, it has been a long battle to win the action.

Jan and Bob Burgess’s garden in Stratfield Road has flooded with sewage water four times since 1963.

They found condoms and raw effluent floating in their garden and, last year, had foul water lapping at their back door.

Mrs Burgess, 79, said: “I’ve become paranoid whenever they say there will be a storm.

“Every time we’ve been flooded we’ve had to get a private firm in and pay for it ourselves.

“With the stuff people shove down their toilets and the fact we have always kept a clean drain, it’s just not on that we have to pay for it.

“It’s great now because we know that if we have a storm we’re going to get someone to come and help us.

“In the past, it’s been three or four days before we’ve got help. It’s just peace of mind.”

Cherwell District Council member for Kidlington South Maurice Billington, who campaigned for the change, said: “Everyone is over the moon about this.

“In the years since I’ve been on the council we’ve had problems because residents have had to pay a lot of money for work on sewers.”

Mr Billington said four residents in Morton Avenue had been hit with a £12,000 bill after a sewer collapsed three years ago. He said more than 1,000 homes benefited from the change over, including 324 homes in the Garden City estate.

Environment minister Richard Benyon said: “The transfer will stop the financial threat of customers being hit with huge repair bills for sewers that sometimes are not even on their property.

“It’s a much fairer and simpler approach.”

Thames Water has taken over about 40,000km of drains and sewers, adding to its existing 67,000km sewerage network across London and Thames Valley.

Chief executive, Martin Baggs, said: “Although this will be a very big operational challenge for us, we welcome the clarity and peace of mind that the Government’s decision to transfer private sewers to water companies will bring.”

He said the extra cost to customers would be between £4 and £14 a year.