Human faeces spewing from a man’s toilet had to be shovelled into a bath after a communal blockage put him and his pregnant wife at risk.

James Lewis, 41, was forced to heap sewage around on his hands and knees for three hours to prevent it flooding his bathroom in Grover House, Nash Mills, near Kings Langley.  

The personal trainer noticed it growing in the flat’s toilet and bath early in the morning and called the block’s managing agent, FirstPort, urgently requesting the block’s water also be turned off.

But despite sewage swelling rapidly, he was told someone would be there in four hours, leaving Mr Lewis no choice but to tackle the “volcano of faeces” himself.

Watford Observer: James Lewis was forced to shovel human faeces around his bathroom for hours to avoid it flooding.James Lewis was forced to shovel human faeces around his bathroom for hours to avoid it flooding. (Image: James Lewis)

FirstPort said it was “very sorry” for the distress caused and did not expect the couple to deal with it themselves given a contractor had been appointed.

“It was probably the worst day of my life because until the main water supply was turned off I had no control,” Mr Lewis said.

He called emergency home repairs business HomeServe, which he said confirmed it was a communal problem and therefore something only the managing agent could fix.

Watford Observer: Mr Lewis said sewage was coming into the couple's toilet and bath whenever other people in the block used water.Mr Lewis said sewage was coming into the couple's toilet and bath whenever other people in the block used water. (Image: James Lewis)

Five hours after reporting the issue, an external contractor acting on FirstPort’s behalf arrived and spent several hours tackling it. The cause turned out to be a blocked pipe in the car park.

Mr Lewis hit out at FirstPort’s “complete lack of communication”, adding it also failed to follow through on a promise to have the bathroom thoroughly cleaned afterwards, and has not fixed bathroom damage caused during the remedial works.

“My wife and I felt alone, completely stressed out, anxious and didn't know who to turn to for help,” he said. “We pay FirstPort so much money to manage these blocks and yet we were treated so badly in such a serious situation.”

Watford Observer: Nikki and James Lewis.Nikki and James Lewis. (Image: James Lewis)

Following the incident on April 17, a FirstPort spokesperson said: “We fully appreciate how difficult this incident was for Mr and Mrs Lewis and we are very sorry for any distress caused.

“As soon as we were made aware of the situation we immediately instructed an external contractor to attend.

“At no point did we expect Mr and Mrs Lewis to deal with the issue themselves, as we had already appointed a contractor to attend on our behalf.

“There was unfortunately a delay with the contractor attending the development and we have written to Mr and Mrs Lewis offering our sincere apologies for this.”