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Ken doll, false teeth and cutlery found in sewers

Severn Trent A Ken doll after being retrieved from a sewer, covered in excrementSevern Trent
This doll had, surely, seen better days before it was rescued from the sewers

A Ken doll, a set of false teeth and cutlery are among the "weirdest items" to be found in one water company's sewers.

Severn Trent provides water to Gloucestershire, part of Wales, the Midlands, and some of the north of England.

While Severn Trent has said some of the items on its list are "funny", it comes with "an important message".

Grant Mitchell, sewer blockages lead at Severn Trent, has asked people to "be careful" what they are putting in the sewers.

Severn Trent Underwear after being removed from the sewersSevern Trent
Underwear was also found in the sewers

The top ten list of the strangest things found in Severn Trent's sewers include:

  • Toys, including a Dora the Explorer action figure and a Ken doll
  • Parts of a garden shed
  • False teeth
  • Underwear
  • A chopped-up bedframe
  • Glasses
  • Wallets
  • Keys
  • Cutlery
  • Car tyres

Mr Mitchell said that how the items got in there was "anyone's guess".

"It makes the job pretty entertaining for everyone, but it does come with a very important message for everyone to be careful what you are putting in the sewers as it can cause messy and costly problems for all our customers," he added.

"Although we see items like this at times, the thing we see the most that cause blockages are wet wipes and other ‘unflushable’ items such as nappies and sanitary products.

"We would urge everyone to keep in mind that only the three P’s should be put down the toilet – pee, poo and paper.

"Bin everything else."

Severn Trent Wet wipes in a waste truck after being removed from the sewersSevern Trent
Wet wipes, pictured here, cause a lot of problems for water companies

Severn Trent said it has managed and cleared 28,782 blockages in the past year, with one of the biggest offenders being wet wipes.

According to the company, even wet wipes that say "flushable" or "biodegradable" on the packaging don't break down like toilet paper does.

Other "problem items" include kitchen roll, cotton buds, nappies and sanitary products.

The government announced last week it would be introducing new legislation to ban wet wipes containing plastic.

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