YORKSHIRE Water has launched a LEGO education-based programme to raise awareness of the causes of sewer blockages in schools around the region.

The sessions outline to children what can cause blockages in the sewer network and what should and should not be flushed down the toilet or poured down the sink through the Blockage Buster Challenge.

As part of the lessons, children work in teams and put their science and engineering skills to the test to build a LEGO robot and program it to travel around a map tackling blockages caused by wet wipes incorrectly flushed down toilets and fats, oils and greases disposed of down sinks rather than into kitchen bins.

Anne Reed, social value and education manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “We’re delighted to be offering this innovative education programme to schools in our region.

“Blockages cost us millions of pounds to remove every year and we hope this new session will offer a different way to educate children on what should and shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet or poured down the drain.

“By providing an interactive and engaging lesson we hope the messages of only flushing the 3Ps – pee, poo and toilet paper – will stick with the children and make its way into their homes to reduce the number of blockages we deal with daily.”