A BLOCKED pipe near the SAS garrison in Credenhill is causing toilets to overflow and engineers are struggling to fix the problem.

The issue has come to light after a housing developer pitched plans to build 100 homes on land south of the A480 which is next to the camp.

The Ministry of Defence has listed a number of concerns with the application – and chief among them is the foul-smelling foe.

“The sewage pipe running through the garrison experiences blockages on a regular basis,” states the MoD letter.

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“These blockages are caused by sewage originating from outside of the garrison and result in the flooding of the gardens of civilian properties.

“This in turn results in calls of complaints to the garrison guard room.”

Staff working at the SAS camp are required to escort engineers onto the secretive camp to carry out maintenance and repairs on the pipe.

“Given that the garrison is an operational defence site clearly there are additional restrictions with allowing contractors on site and there is a risk that such restrictions could delay access to the sewer in an emergency,” the MoD letter adds.

Planning documents also show that the camp is struggling with flooding – and there are fears extra housing will only make the situation worse.

The MoD claims that surface run off from the site of the proposed housing has already caused flooding of a defence construction yard before this water then “flows into the wider Hereford garrison”.

But any proposal for extra trees or vegetation in the area to soak up the water are also dismissed by military top brass.

They warn: “Any planting in this location should not be allowed to grow too high, encroach the fence or become a feature which could be used to climb the security fence.”

Herefordshire Council is expected to consider the housing plan by January 29, next year.