YORKSHIRE water have released a list of the most outlandish things to turn up in its sewage works - including live ammunition, false teeth, and a space hopper.
The company has released the list to encourage people to be more careful about what they put into the network.
Notable finds include:
• Live army rounds which caused Yorkshire Water to call in a bomb disposal team to deal with.
• Fridge freezers and sofas
• A den that had been built in one of Yorkshire Water’s larger trunk sewers – including tables and chairs to make it cosy.
• Mobile phones
• Numerous wallets, watches and keys
• False teeth
• A space hopper
In the past year alone, Yorkshire Water has dealt with around 20,000 blockages in the 54,000km of pipes it maintains around the region, with half of these being caused by inappropriate things being put into the system.
While the most common of these are items like nappies, cotton buds and wipes or liquids like fats, oils and greases – some more unusual things also cause disruption and have a major impact the sewage treatment process to safely treat waste and return it to the environment.
Lee Pitcher, Yorkshire Water’s Head of Waste Water Operations, said: “We want to encourage all of our customers to think carefully about what they’re putting down the drain or the toilet and the effect that could have further down the line.
“Obviously everyone knows you shouldn’t be putting a mobile phone or a wallet down the toilet but it’s actually the less obvious things that people aren’t aware of which create blockages, causing problems for us and our customers around the region.”
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