A family said they felt “helpless” after their home was contaminated with sewage following heavy rains.

Will Capper from Winchester received a call from his partner Lauren on August 1st to say that “the manhole cover in the garden had started to overflow”.

He explained that a sewer pipe running through the back garden had overflowed, entered the house and “leaked under the floor”.

Southern Water said it “understands what an incredible burden flooding can be” and had “immediately made a £500 goodwill payment” to help with accommodation.

Lauren Slater was at home with her two young children when she first noticed water entering the family home.

Mrs Slater said: “As soon as the first trickle of water came, I picked up everything I could from the ground and, of course, brought the children upstairs.

“At that point I noticed that the front of the house was two feet, knee deep, in water.”

Only later, when the water had receded, were they able to leave the house.

Mr Capper said he had made several calls to Southern Water, who had sent a contractor to inspect the site and offered to pay for accommodation for the night.

But the next day, Mr Capper said the company told him it was “sorry, but it’s no longer our problem.”

He said: “Our argument is that it is Southern Water’s responsibility to look after their infrastructure and make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen.”

A Southern Water spokesman said: “We understand that flooding is incredibly distressing and we are sorry for the impact on Mr Capper and his family.

“Our customer care team have been in close contact with the family and have immediately arranged a goodwill payment of £500 to cover accommodation costs whilst our teams began cleaning the property.

“We are also inspecting our facilities in the region to ensure they are functioning properly.”

Mr Capper said he had to pay for several hotel nights and deal with his insurance company.

He was told that the claim was based on a “water leak, not a flood.”

However, he said that after the adjuster visited, the family received another call saying there was a flood.

A letter from the claims adjuster confirmed that a notation in the policy meant that “the insurer will not pay for any loss, damage or alternative accommodation caused by flooding or inundation resulting from storms.”

It continues: “We would propose to pursue the matter further jointly with Southern Water.”

Mr Capper said: “We are essentially in survival mode, we have spent all our money.

“We have nowhere to stay. What should we do?”