'Giant fatberg was size of a bus'

The biggest "fatberg" ever found in a residential sewer has been removed by engineers in Kingston, south-west London, after three weeks of work.

The "fatberg," a collection of fat and wet wipes, weighed 15 tonnes and was the size of a bus.

Gordon Hailwood, a sewer contract manager for Thames Water, said if it had not been discovered in time, raw sewage could have started to spurt out of manholes across the whole of Kingston.

He warned of the dangers of "fatbergs," saying that Thames Water was trying to spread the message of "bin it and don't block it".

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday 6 August 2013.