Anger in village as sewage leaks into graveyard IT HAS raised the biggest stink in centuries in the grounds of one of Scotland's most picturesque churches. A climate change consultant is being accused of contaminating a village graveyard by allowing sewage from his septic tank to seep into its grounds. Residents nearby have expressed their distress at the offensive smell when visiting the graves of their loved ones at Kirkurd Church near Blyth Bridge in the Borders, with one woman saying she feels she cannot scatter her late brother's ashes there. The sewage sludge is now seeping into the bottom quarter of the graveyard, and Scottish Borders Council has banned burials within ten metres of the pipe. It has also appointed a soils analyst to carry out tests to pinpoint where exactly the sewage is coming from. The whitewashed church surrounded by Peeblesshire's hills was built in 1766 to serve the surrounding farming community and, although the B-listed building is no longer in use for religious purposes, the graveyard remains open to the local community. Campaigners said that the problem began after Gareth Phillips, chief climate change officer for Singapore-based Sindicatum Sustainable Resources, a worldwide operator of clean energy projects, moved into nearby Kirkurd House, which he bought in 2007 for almost £1 million from the Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale. Neighbour Celia Pattle said the property had a septic tank and a soakaway in the grounds for overflow but she claimed that, instead of using the soakaway, Phillips had connected into a disused pipe in 2008 that runs under the graveyard. This had directed sewage into her septic tank and caused problems in the churchyard. However, attempts to resolve the situation with Phillips had failed, she said. "I've nominated myself as unofficial caretaker for the graveyard and have looked after the flowers people have left and cleared away rubbish," Pattle said. It breaks my heart to see the disrespect. I just get very distressed when people visit the graveyard and see the state the place is in. If they have children with them they tend to play with twigs and stones and could be susceptible to catching an infection. My husband, who is a builder, offered to help Mr Phillips with the soakaway, with everything, just at cost price. But he told us they were "strapped for cash." "Mr Phillips just walks away saying, "I'm too busy to discuss this" when we try to speak to him about it, and has said in the past that he doesn't want to disturb his new lawn. He has even built a child's playhouse on stilts over the site where the soakaway is located. Residents have written to the council demanding action. Margaret Aytoun, a senior citizen, whose father and husband are buried in the graveyard, where there is also a memorial to her late daughter, wrote: "I am deeply distressed to find that an old disused sewage pipe appears to be leaking into the graveyard. I would like to know what the Scottish Borders Council are going to do about resolving this issue. Louise Hurley, another campaigner, said: "I'm staggered that the council has allowed this to happen. My parents are buried in the churchyard and when I was visiting I noticed the bottom quarter of the ground was soggy with grey matter. I have my brother's ashes and he has a lair [plot] in the churchyard. But I just can't scatter them with the place in such a disgusting state. Paul Wheelhouse, Nationalist MSP for the South of Scotland, said the dispute highlighted a potential health hazard as well as causing distress to those visiting the kirkyard. Given the circumstances, it would be entirely sensible for the local authority, the campaigners, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the owner of the house, who has allegedly rerouted the sewage pipe, to get round the table and seek some form of mediation. A council spokesman said it did not own the graveyard but was responsible for its management under statute. He also said the council did not hold information on who owns the sewage pipes under the graveyard and did not know who was responsible for maintaining them. He added: "We recently received reports that sewage was on the surface of the cemetery and, as a result, the council has appointed a soil analyst who has attended the site and taken samples of the material. The council is awaiting results of these tests and, once we receive them, the results will guide us to the most appropriate course of action. Phillips did not respond to calls or an e-mail sent to his company to discuss the issue.