MILLIONS of people across London and the South East admit they are continuing to flush waste down their drains and loos, despite the gruesome TV and newspaper images of the problems they cause beneath our streets.

 In Hillingdon, there were 2,379 blockages due to fats, oils and wet wipes in 2017/2018.

To highlight the issue, Thames Water has commissioned an artist to create a 3D artwork lifting the lid on London’s sewers, to show people the monster fatbergs lurking beneath their feet.

It accompanies research released by Thames Water which reveals that people continue to flush wet wipes, sanitary products and nappies down the loo because they are confused over what is or isn’t flushable.

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Others freely admit they flush without thinking and that, once it’s past the U-bend and out of sight, it’s no longer their problem.

Thames Water spends £18m a year clearing 75,000 blockages from the sewer network. The vast majority of these – 87% - are fatbergs, caused by a combination of wet wipes, nappies and sanitary products flushed down the loo, mixing with cooking oils flushed down sinks.

The ensuring lumps harden and build to enormous sizes completely blocking parts of the sewer system.

Last year, the largest ever fatberg - the length of two football pitches and weighing the same as 11 double-decker buses – was removed from sewers in East London and parts of it went on display in the Museum of London.