A MASSIVE 200-tonne fatberg – the size of “two blue whales” – has been removed from the sewers of a town in Essex.
The whopping mass of “unflushable” waste was cleared from 80 kilometres of sewer pipes underneath Southend-on-Sea.
The shocking fatberg is roughly equivalent in mass to two blue whales – the largest mammals in the world – and took four months to clear from the town’s sewers.
Anglian Water, which began the clean-up operation in December, and completed it this week, says that some pipes were found to be up to 85 per cent full of unflushable materials.
The waste, once removed, was "roughly the equivalent of two blue whales", the company said.
Officials found tools, toys, concrete, and even kitchen utensils blocking the pipes as well as the “usual” items found in fatbergs, such as wet wipes and sanitary products.
The work, which took place across the town centre, was completed to help prevent flooding in the area, which is often caused by a build-up of unflushables in the pipes.
Ben Hatfield-Wright, Water Recycling Network Efficiency Manager for Anglian Water, said: "We have been astounded by the amount of unflushables found in Southend-on-Sea.
"In addition to the wet wipes and sanitary products which we find are the usual culprits for blockages we also found concrete, tools, toys and kitchen utensils."
Despite the quantity of waste, the company said no major issues were found – and only ten small repairs were required.
Anglian Water will now be installing 24 sensors across the network to monitor flow, levels and temperature, to ensure the pipes keep flowing.
Anglian Water have since asked residents to help keep the sewers clear of blockages by only flushing the 3PS down the toilet – poo, paper and pee.
They urged Brits to throw anything else in the bin, including wipes, cotton buds and sanitary products.
Only used water should go down the sink – fats, oils and grease should be saved to reuse in cooking and baking.
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