Article from BBC News: 23rd August 2024
What do Buzz Lightyear, Spider-Man and Laa Laa from the Teletubbies all have in common?
They are all toys that have ended up beyond the u-bend after ending up in Lancashire’s sewers.
Andrew Bromley and David Cavill from United Utilities used jet vac units – which are giant flushing and suction machines – to clear blocked drains and empty a giant underground tank.
They are part of the squad that were called to 18,000 blockages on the sewer network last year.
Over the years they have found all sorts of weird and wonderful things that have been flushed down the loo – and toys are amongst the most common.
“No two days are the same,” Mr Bromley said.
“Some days it’s a blocked drain, the next day we could be deep underground cleaning out a tank that’s the size of a football pitch.”
“Blockages are usually caused by products such as wet wipes and cooking fats oils and grease – but over the years, we’ve discovered a wide selection of toys in the sewer system.
“I imagine it is young children dropping them down the loo without realising that they will be lost forever.”
As well as causing blockages in the sewer network, mis-flushed items can also cause blocked pipes and flooding in homes.
