There must be something in the water – according to Bradford-based Yorkshire Water, items blocking its sewers suggest there could be a baby boom in the city.

In the last year the company has removed dozens of blockages from its network of sewers in Bradford which have occurred as a result of baby-related items such as nappies, baby wipes and even baby clothing, becoming lodged inside.

From 20,000 blockages removed from the company’s sewers last year, 30 per cent were directly due to build-ups of nappies, baby wipes and fats, oils and grease – there have been 22 incidents of sewer flooding so far this year in Bradford alone.

Fran Winter, Yorkshire Water’s network disruption manager, said: “Whether it’s down to the reported baby-boom in Yorkshire, or just bad practice among a small minority of people, there’s no doubt we’re removing a large number of blockages in our sewers caused by build-ups of nappies, wipes and baby clothes.

“People often don’t realise the problems that can occur from them wrongly disposing of products such as nappies down our sewers – if they don’t make it through to our sewage works, they can often end up accumulating in our sewers which can lead to blockages and potentially result in sewage flooding people’s homes, which is obviously something nobody wants.

“And people who practice such behaviour also risk blocking up their own private drains, which they are then responsible for clearing, which can be quite a costly exercise.

“Our message is very simple – bin it, don’t flush it.”

Unusual items found in Yorkshire’s sewers have included false teeth, Christmas trees and a Spacehopper.

Yorkshire Water is campaigning to highlight the problems caused by people incorrectly disposing of their rubbish.

For more information about the campaign or for advice on disposing of rubbish, visit yorkshirewater.

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