THOUSANDS of wipes have been removed from the sewer in Stroud Town Centre after they caused a mass blockage.

Severn Trent Water was called out to deal with the sewer blockage in London Road.

The team carried out an investigation and discovered that the sewer was nearly full to the brim with a disgusting pile of wipes mixed with fat and sewage.

Craig Bayliss, Severn Trent’s waste team manager for the area, said: “We knew that the sewer was blocked, and we know that in 70 per cent of cases, it’s wipes that cause the issue, but we’ve never seen a pile quite this big.

"It took two people three hours to get it out and what’s so frustrating is that it was totally avoidable.

“These sewer blockages, if not identified and cleared can lead to sewers backing up and overflowing into people’s homes and gardens.

"And it’s not necessarily the people who put the wrong things down the toilet, sinks or drains that are affected.

"What you do in your home can be causing a problem for your neighbours, which is what we suspect may have happened in this case."

“To help prevent the majority of blockages, just remember the 3 P’s – the only things that should go into the sewers are Paper, Pee and Poo.

"Please help us to keep your sewers flowing efficiently by getting a bin for the bathroom and disposing of items that way rather than down the toilet.

"For fat, oil and grease, pour it into a pot or jar with a lid, or one of the free fat traps that our customers can request from our website at stwater.co.uk/fattrap.”

Issues with slow drains and blocked sewers can be reported to Severn Trent at www.stwater.co.uk or by calling 0800 783 4444.