Abbey Mills: Fatberg weighing 35 tonnes removed from sewer

Thames Water said the mass of silt, rag and unflushable items showed the "everyday challenges we face in keeping our sewers flowing"

A fatberg weighing 35 tonnes - the same as three double-decker buses - has been cleared from an east London sewer, Thames Water said.

It took 11 days and 20 people to clear the Abbey Mills mass of waste, made up of unflushable items such as tampons, wet wipes and condoms.

Last month, the UK government announced plans to ban the sale of wet wipes containing plastic.

Thames Water called the fatberg's removal "an incredible feat".

James O'Donoghue, pumping stations operations manager at Abbey Mills, said: "It was predominantly made up of silt and rag - unflushable items such as wet wipes, tampons and condoms - and shows the everyday challenges we face in keeping our sewers flowing.

"A huge thank you and well done to everybody involved in the removal. We face this type of issue every day as we keep sewers flowing across London and the Thames Valley, and we've learnt a lot from this project."

Thames Water said it removed an estimated 19 billion wet wipes from its sewers every five years, costing at least £90m.

The water company reminded people to only flush "pee, poo and toilet paper".

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