ENGINEERS from water company Severn Trent were shocked to find a blocked sewer pipe in Bromsgrove had been caused by non-other than Spongebob Squarepants.
The situation – which would not have looked out of place as a storyline in the hit TV cartoon series – was caused by the soft toy character being flushed down the toilet.
The engineers could not believe their eyes when they saw Spongebob – seemingly taking a holiday away from his pineapple under the sea in the city of Bikini Bottom.
Grant Mitchell, from Severn Trent, said: “Our engineers did manage a chuckle but this blockage could have caused sewage to back up into people’s homes, the street or even into the local environment, which would be absolutely awful.
“On this occasion we managed to get there just in time before it caused a major incident.
“Thankfully, his mate Patrick was nowhere to be seen, but this is just one example of the bizarre things our teams find blocking sewers on a daily basis.”
In the last year alone, Severn Trent has battled thousands of blockages across the region.
Grant added: “When fats, oils and greases enter our sewer network, they can join with wipes and other sanitary products incorrectly flushed down the toilet, causing masses that block sewer pipes, and it doesn’t take much for a blockage to form.
“To avoid blockages, we advise only ever flushing the three P’s – pee, paper and poo, and disposing of oils, once cooled, in the bin.”
People can visit stwater.co.uk/my-supply/waste-water/looking-after-your-sewers/avoiding-blockages/ for more information on avoiding sewer blockages.
If customers do run into problems, either slow drains or a blocked sewer which is Severn Trent’s responsibility they can be reported at www.stwater.co.uk or by calling 0800 783 4444.
