Wheel found in pipe solves Horton Heath flooding mystery

The source of mystery flooding has finally been solved after engineers discovered a wheel blocking a drain.

Dorset Council had previously unsuccessfully tried to clear the culvert at Horton Heath with industrial water jet machines and a gully tanker.

However, it was not until contractors sent down a robotic camera that the source of the problem was identified.

The authority said the wheel was believed to have been lodged there for about a year, and had acted as a valve.

In a post on Facebook, the council said it had "never seen anything like it", with the wheel being "the perfect diameter to get stuck in the culvert".

It added: "We could jet past it, but when it rained it blocked the pipe.

"Mystery solved and blockage removed."

The council published a screenshot from the robotic camera of the wheel inside the 53cm-wide (20in) culvert, located between Three Legged Cross and Wigbeth, along with a photo of an engineer holding it up in celebration.

Asked by a Facebook user if it would be issuing a "circular" about the find, the council replied: "Wheel get a-round to it, but right now we're tyred."

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