Raw sewage has been floating along Market Square in Bromley, for two days, causing a stink for Christmas shoppers.

Thames Water engineers visited the town earlier today (December 5) after shopkeepers reported urine and faeces bubbling up from the drains for the second time in two weeks.

Filth leaked from a broken sewer along the road for several days last week before Thames Water staff attended to fix the problem on Friday (November 28).

Jeweller Daniel Madley reported shoppers unknowingly paddling raw sewage into his store.

The 60-year-old, who has been running Daniels of Madley in Market Square since 1988, told News Shopper: "For the last 48 hours, urine and faeces have been floating around in Market Square. All the liquid is coming out of the drains. It’s like a river. It really does smell awful.

"People are walking around in it and bringing it in to all the shops. Yesterday, a little kid fell over in it. It was all over him and all over his hands. He was only about eight years old."

Mr Madley, from Meopham, said he became extremely frustrated when he tried to report the problem.

He added: "I reported it to Thames Water and they told me it was down to Bromley Council to sort it out. I reported it the council and they passed the buck back to Thames Water.

"I’ve been here 27 years and I’ve never seen it as bad as this. Last week, the same thing happened. It’s outside Argos and Starbucks too. Surely we deserve a better service than this."

A Thames Water spokesman said: "We have a team in Market Square now working out what’s causing the problem, and they will not leave until it is solved.

"We’re sorry this has happened again, especially as we left the sewer clear and free-flowing after similar issues last week."

A spokesman for Bromley Council said: "We reported this problem to Thames Water as soon as we became aware of it as obviously they are responsible for this sort of issue. 

"We are very keen for it to be resolved while the shoppers are busy doing their Christmas shopping in the town centre. 

"We would always urge traders and residents to report problems with their water or sewage directly to Thames Water as quickly as possible to ensure that problems can be resolved quickly and efficiently.”