Giant fatberg discovered in Hodge Hill Birmingham

Teams from Severn Trent are working hard to try and clear a giant fatberg clogging a sewer in Hodge Hill, Birmingham.

The fatberg is estimated to be one metre high and over one thousand metres long.

Severn Trent says it's believed to be one of the biggest blockages it's ever dealt with, weighing around 300 tonnes - equivalent to 250 family cars.

Scott Burgin, operations manager at Severn Trent, said "this giant mass is the result of everyone occasionally washing and flushing the wrong things down the drains, and not realising the impact that it’s having."

Severn Trent have issued the following advice to reduce the cause of fatbergs in the future:

• Leave leftover cooking fat to cool, before disposing of it in the bin.

• Stick to flushing the three P's (pee, poo and toilet paper) and bin anything else.

The company said that in the last year alone it has been called out to thousands of blockages across the region, of which three quarters were caused by people misusing the sewer system.   

Sarah-Jane O'Kane from Severn Trent explains how fatbergs are formed underground.

The fatberg is being tackled by teams around the clock but is expected to take until June to clear. 

Read more:

• 64 years worth of raw sewage dumped into rivers and streams by Severn Trent

• Warning not to flush wet wipes as giant fatberg removed in Plymouth