Yes, that’s a Ken doll covered in… well, we’ll leave you to guess what the brown stuff is.

The toy, along with a Dora the Explorer (obviously taking her job seriously) are just a few of the things found by Severn Trent Water workers while below ground.

The company has revealed the top ten ‘strangest and funniest’ things that have made their way into the sewers they look after.

Toys come in at number one, followed by ‘pieces of a garden shed’ at two and false teeth at three (we’re guessing owner of the latter won’t be wanting them back any time soon).

Swooping into fourth place is underwear, followed by ‘a chopped-up bed frame’.

The final five unusual items found in the Severn Trent sewers were glasses, wallets, keys, cutlery and car tyres.

Grant Mitchell, sewer blockages lead for Severn Trent, said: ‘Over the years we have seen so many things making their way through the sewers.

‘All you have to do is sift through the skips of unflushable items that are filtered out of the treatment process at our Sewage Treatment Works and you will be able to find all sorts.

‘How some of this stuff has got in there is anyone’s guess, but it makes the job pretty entertaining for everyone.’

He said, however, the lighthearted list of objects Severn Trent have relased comes with a ‘very important message for everyone’: be careful what you’re sending into the sewers, as it can cause ‘messy and costly problems’.

Mr Mitchell 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 and bin everything else.’

In the past year, waste crews at the water company have managed and cleared a whopping 28,782 blockages, a large proportion caused by wet wipes.

Even some that say ‘flushable’ or ‘biodegradable’ on the packaging don’t break down like toilet paper, the company siad.

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

Last month we shared some of the weirdest things people had left in Ubers while in January Metro took a look at the oddest items Brits leave behind at European hotels.

Source:
courtesy of METRO

by Sara Odeen-Isbister

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