Thames Water has apologised after emergency sewerage repairs kept Wallingford residents awake for two nights.

Noisy pumps began drawing sewage from the company's St John's Road pumping station on Wednesday nightand were not switched off until Friday afternoon.

A mains valve at Croft Road had seized up and had to be replaced with a new pipe. It took two days for the sewage below the valve to be pumped into tanker lorries and driven away to the treatment works at nearby Cholsey.

Among those kept awake by the constant noise was Amanda Pounds, of Bosley Crescent.

Miss Pounds, 28, said: "It was a bit of a nightmare, right outside the front door, but what can you do? The first night, it began at about 11.30pm. I was kept awake most of the night."

Fiona Weikert, of St John's Road, said: "It kept me awake on the Wednesday night, but I understand the work had to be done."

Earlier this month, Thames Water was fined £26,600 after Wallingford's Lower Wharf Stream became polluted due to defects in the St John's Road pumping station.

The successful prosecution, brought by the Environment Agency, followed spills that caused the stream's ammonia level to be 482 per cent higher than acceptable, and amounts of suspended solids to be 425 per cent higher than acceptable.

Thames Water spokesman Andrew Boyd said the recent maintenance work had nothing to do with the court case.

He said: "A valve had seized up higher up the system and could have led to sewage backing, so we had to act quickly.

"We did not want it coming out of man-holes.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused, particularly the noise which may have kept people awake.

"Obviously, we did not know it was going to happen, so we weren't able to tell people beforehand."