A mother and daughter have had to sleep outside due to the strong smell of sewage under the floor of their bungalow.

Linda Porter, who lives in Bethersden Court, Maidstone, says the pair have been feeling ill since the odour began on Friday.

The 51-year-old explained: “My neighbours have all been in, they've got as far as the front door, took one breath, gagged, and carried on gagging as they turned back out to walk out.”

The mum says she first contacted Golding Homes on Saturday and explained the situation but was told they wouldn’t be able to send anyone out until this week.

The company has apologised for the distress caused and is arranging for cameras to be put down the drain to find out the cause of the problem.

She said: “As there was no visual sewage, just the smell, they said someone would deal with it on Monday.

“We were unable to eat indoors because the smell was so bad so we went out to get a takeaway but I got a call from my next door neighbour to say the drainage company had turned up.

“They inspected the manhole and said the sewage under the floor of our property was something to do with drainage.

“The worker came inside and smelt it and said it was really bad and that they needed to get cameras put down there but that it needed to go through Golding Homes.”

The pair “put up” with the smell for the rest of the weekend but mainly sat outside the property in a communal area.

On Monday morning, Linda was told by Golding Homes that the issue had been raised with Capital Drainage and they would be in touch.

After hearing nothing and not being able to get in touch with them herself, she contacted the housing company again later that day and says she was told to wait.

She explained: “The smell was absolutely horrendous. I contacted my GP because me and my daughter were and still are feeling quite ill.”

On Tuesday afternoon, they both attended their appointments at The Mote Medical Practice and say they were told to get out of the property as soon as possible.

Tara, 17, used to haemorrhage from different parts of her body and has a weak immune system as a result.

Linda also suffers from health issues including osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and high blood pressure.

She said: “The doctor said to me they couldn’t express how soon we needed to contact Golding Homes, more so for my daughter’s safety.

“They said she could go to sleep in that house and she may not wake up.”

After contacting the housing company again, Linda says she was told someone would be in touch, but they were not sure when.

On Tuesday, the pair slept in the communal garden all night as they “couldn’t be in the house”.

Linda said: “If we do go in there, we have to have all the doors and windows open and be in and out as soon as possible. The smell is in every single room.

“I've put an electric heater outside because obviously it’s cold and my daughter has a weak immune system.

“We stayed out there all night, and some of the neighbours have been bringing us cups of tea to try and keep us warm. One of them even put a gazebo up for us in case it rains.”

As they cannot stay in the property and cook, they have had to live off takeaways, which Linda says is “draining her money”.

“Golding Homes has said they want a letter from the GP, which they’re prepared to do but it’s going to cost me £40,” she said.

“I haven’t got £40 and why should I have to pay for something that’s not my fault?

“We had to put our dog down on Friday and have her cremated on Saturday, this is just adding even more stress to that.”

She is refusing to pay her rent until the situation is resolved.

The pair have been living in the house since September 3, 2022, and Linda said they’ve had “so many problems” in the past year, including mould.

“I’ve still got loads of outstanding repairs from last year as well that haven’t been addressed, like when it rains it floods from the back door into my kitchen,” she explained.

“The smell has been on and off since I moved in, but I just put it down to something passing through.

“We brought blankets out to sleep with and they smell of sewage, which means everything we own is contaminated with the smell. The longer it’s in there the worse it’s going to get.

“They said they need to put cameras down the drains to go under the property to find out exactly what the issue is, and they won't know what’s causing it until they do that. Then they’ll need to carry out the work.

“Nothings going to be sorted anytime soon, they can’t even sort anything until next week because the drainage company isn't available until then.

“The neighbours have offered to help but it’s not down to them to pay for me to go to a hotel, this is what Golding Homes should be sorting out”

She also needs to be rehomed somewhere close by, as she cares for her parents who live in Park Wood.

“I just keep breaking down because I can’t deal with it anymore, we need to get out of this house.”

Rachel McFarlane, director of customer experience at Golding Homes said: “We’re sorry for the distress caused to Ms Porter and her family, their welfare is important to us and we’re looking into the cause of the smell and to sort it out.

“In the meantime, we’ll continue to support the family, working with Ms Porter to resolve the matter, including offering alternative temporary accommodation should this be required.

“Our specialist contractor responded to an emergency call out at the weekend, to look into reports of a bad smell. Initial checks of the drains showed no obvious issue.

“We’re looking further into the possible causes, and we’ve arranged to send cameras down the drains this week. We’ll keep working with the family until the issue is fully resolved.“