Shrewsbury is hotspot for sewer problems

A network of sewer pipes running beneath Shrewsbury has been named among the worst 20 in the Midlands for blockages, it was revealed today.

Severn Trent has published the worst 20 places for the highest number of sewer blockages with the Monkmoor and Ditherington areas in Shrewsbury listed as 17th on the list.

The blockage count reached 203 last year, making it more of a hotspot for incidents than Walsall town centre which had 201 reported problems.

Some of the bizarre items found across the region include sanitary products, nappies, medicine, razors, dental floss and underwear.

Church Stretton was also listed in the top 20 lowest places for blockages, with just nine recorded last year.

Sewer workers in Shropshire are now urging customers to trim the fat this Christmas, as new figures show Severn Trent spends £10 million in the region each year cleaning up blocked pipes.

More than 700 kilometres of sewers are prone to clogging up and bosses are faced with clearing nearly 22,000 blocked sewers, a cost which is passed on to customers.

It is feared the number of blocked sewers will increase further over the festive period because of the extra fats and oils thrown away.