A family in Surrey is being forced to stay indoors while temperatures outside soar, because of the foul scent of human faeces.
Mark Buller, 41, was overjoyed at the prospect of moving his family into their own little slice of paradise – a £700,000 home in Frimley, Surrey.
But months later, they are locked in a war with the developers over a disgusting ‘smell of poo’ surrounding the posh development.
Now, Mr Buller has begun publicly shaming Linden Homes by hanging huge banners from his house, spreading the word about his disaster garden and blocking access to the contractor entrance with his car.
The family bought the home in 2016 while it was still under construction – but were dismayed to find on completion builders installed 11 drains and a sewage pumping station – in their front garden.
The pump under the Buller’s home is causing an extreme smell. There are 15 drains surrounding their home – and 11 are in the front garden
Mark Buller, wife Rhian and their three children are being forced to endure an overwhelming smell of poo after a sewage pump was placed under their £700,000 home in Surrey
The Bullers – Mark and Rhian, also 41, and their three children are living above the sewage system through which waste from every house on the Linden Homes Heathlands estate development, flows. And they can smell it.
Some days it is so bad they can smell it indoors.
While Britons welcome the sunshine the Buller family is literally dreading the heat because that is when the stench gets worse.
Mr Buller claims the Linden Homes sales teams had no idea about the presence of the pump when negotiations were taking place.
Now, instead of being able to have barbecues or play in the garden with their children, 12-year-old Emily-May, Thomas, nine, and four-year-old Holly, the family are forced to stay inside with all the windows closed.
Mark said: ‘It’s ridiculous – the whole situation absolutely stinks.
‘The kids can’t even play outside in nice weather, because that’s when it’s worse.
‘We can’t have people over for barbecues in the sun because we never know if it’ll smell of poo – who wants to sit outside with that smell lingering.
‘Why should my family have to live in a house that smells like poo?’
Mr Buller said he never would have bought the home knowing there was a sewage pump under it – and had no indication it would be there – with a total of 15 man hole covers, 11 of which are in the front garden.
The sewage pump for the entire Linden Homes Heathlands estate development is in the Bullers’ front garden along with 15 man hole covers around the house
Drain covers fill the front lawn at the Linden Homes development in Surrey, The Buller family say they can smell the waste under their home when they are inside with the windows closed
The fightback begins: The Bullers have warned potential buyers away from the Surrey estate where they bought their family home. The ‘smell of poo’ is seeping into the home and stopping them from enjoying their property
Mark and Rhian Buller with their children 12-year-old Emily-May, Thomas, nine. The children cannot play out in the garden because of the stench, while the Bullers are forced to keep their windows shut in the soaring temperatures
When the Bullers first saw the house there was not ‘much more than a shell to see’ and plans given to a surveyor made no mention of a pump under the house, the family said.
Mr Buller said he is now ignored by Linden Homes and when contractors were alerted to a problem with the pump, signalled by a flashing light near the Buller home, they took days to get to them.
He said: ‘We keep being fobbed off.
‘Linden come and clear the sewage when it flares up, but the reality is the smell is never going to get better until the pump is moved out of my front garden.’
Now, the Surrey sales consultant is taking matters into his own hands, after 15 call-outs have failed to solve the problem.
He said: ‘I’m going to put up a banner on the front of the house to warn potential buyers off the development.
‘I’ve even parked my car in front of the contractors entrance to the site to get their attention before.
‘That time someone came to look at the pump and sort the smell within minutes.
‘I’m starting to take legal advice now but it could drag on for years and cost me a fortune.
‘Linden have lawyers who deal with this but I have to pay for my own expenses.’
Mark Buller, 41, says his family was not told there would be an entire estate’s worth of waste flowing under his house when he purchased it in 2016
Drain covers are littered around the front garden of the home in Surrey. The Bullers have claimed they had no idea there would be a sewage pump under their home – but the developer says they should have seen it
Despite all the issues, Linden is still selling homes on the posh development.
Mr Buller added: ‘Sometimes I get home from work at 9pm and there will be men on my front garden trying to fix the pump because neighbours have complained about the stench.
‘It’s incredibly noisy. It keeps my children awake.’
Neighbours have also complained about the smell on the street and other problems with their brand new homes.
Mr Buller said: ‘Next door had to have their entire ground floor re-laid because it was getting bumps.
‘Another neighbour had no insulation in the walls.
‘We’ve had a few problems with this too.
‘If you walk between my son’s bedroom and then the room next door it’s noticeably colder, but Linden tell us everything meets guidelines.
‘Would anyone who works for Linden would want to live with the smell of poo? No, they wouldn’t.’
The Bullers had surveyors look at the plans for their family home but they say the sewage pump was not on there. Now Mark and Rhian’s children, 12-year-old Emily-May and Thomas, nine, cannot play in the garden
A spokeswoman from Linden Homes disputed the account and said the sewage pump could have been spotted.
She said: “When Mr Buller purchased the property in 2016, it was a finished home, with the control box for the sewerage installed, in situ and clearly visible to the front of the property.
“The fault with the sewage pump station was recently brought to our attention and was fixed on 16 April. Since rectifying the pump, Mr Buller has subsequently informed us that there is a sewage smell coming from the manholes in the rear garden. However as there is no foul drainage running to the rear of Mr Buller’s property, we understand that the smell may be coming from an adjacent development whose onsite sewers are currently being investigated by Thames Water.”