A TAUNTON family spent nearly two weeks with a foul smell in their house following sewer repairs carried out by Wessex Water in Wellington Road. Other houses along the same stretch of road were also affected.

Carrie Crook, who lives with her step-mother and 7-month-old baby near the Parkfield Drive junction, said: "It smelt like someone left the lid off a pot of paint. We had to shut the door to downstairs because the smell was getting everywhere. It was very worrying."

Said a spokesman for Wessex Water: "The repairs were carried out by inserting a liner impregnated with a polyester resin into the sewer. The liner was filled with water or air and heated to initiate the hardening process.

"Where possible we repair sewers in this way as it is a much quicker process than digging up the road and repairing it in a conventional manner. The smell of styrene given off during the process is not harmful and is generally short lived."

Miss Crook rejected the offer of a masking spray and after 12 days the smell was still there. The problem was eventually solved by the simple remedy of pouring a bucket of water down a disused drain.