Livid residents in Bristol found ‘an explosion of muck’ had shot out their kitchen sinks and covered the entire room in a disgusting and foul-smelling substance

A suspected drain cleaning malfunction led to kitchens in a block of council flats being covered in a disgusting, smelly black substance.

Residents of the block of flats in Bristol said a “great big bang” was heard at about 9am on Friday (April 1) and then found “an explosion of muck” had shot out their kitchen sinks, covering the entire room.

One Barlands House resident said the drains of the 14-storey tower block in Henbury were being cleared by council contractors at the time.

The resident said that he reported what had happened to them and that, while two contractors came to take pictures, nothing had happened six hours later.

Yesterday afternoon (April 1), the residents said the stench was filling the block of flats and that they were unable to go into their kitchens as they described them as a “health hazard”, reports BristolLive.

Resident Martin Hewer said he had also turned his electricity off as a precaution because water is “pouring through the ceiling” of his tenth floor flat.

“I’m absolutely fuming, I’m furious – it’s a scandal,” he said. “I went for a walk this morning and just as I got back at around 9am, there was a great big bang from the kitchen and I walked in to find it like this.

“I talked to my neighbor who was out, and told him to come back, and his kitchen was the same. I don’t know how many flats are affected like this, but I’m on the tenth floor so it could be a lot of them.

“The council had contractors in doing something with the drains, and God knows what’s gone wrong.

“I went and found them and told them, and two of them came up, had a look, took some pictures and then went off again. I haven’t seen them since.”

Mr Hewer, who is retired, also said he’s waiting to hear back from the council, adding that he is worried about his health.

“I couldn’t believe what I saw when I walked into the kitchen. There was all this dirt everywhere, it’s like a sticky black tar-like substance and it stinks.

“Obviously the kitchen is unuseable and I’m worried about what this substance is and if it’s safe to clear up – it needs professional cleaners because now my kitchen is contaminated with this black stuff.

“It needs proper disinfecting – this is a health and safety issue,” I added.

Bristol City Council was contacted for comment. Bristol Live met another resident who said her flat de ella had not been affected, although she said her sink hole was blocked with a plug.