Drainage engineers have revealed the eclectic range of items uncovered in our drains, in a survey by a home emergency company this week.
Predictably, the most common cause of blockages was congealed food, hair and household waste. However, some stranger objects have found their way into the nation's u-bends. Steve Bailey, an engineer from Liverpool, reminisced "I once discovered a quarter of a chicken stuck in a toilet. The customer had enjoyed a family barbeque the previous day, but was bemused as to how it got there. You find children's toys all the time - it's amazing what fun kids can have with toilets."
In 2010 the emergency plumbers HomeServe fished out over 5,000 pairs of knickers, pants and socks from clogged pipes. More bizarre objects found their way into the drains, ranging from garden furniture to fireworks, dog bowls and shuttlecocks. Mobile phones and wedding rings slipping down into lavatories was another common problem.
Rather upsettingly, over one in twenty blockages resulted in the grizzly discovery of a dead animal. Many families dispose of their smaller family pets down the lavatory when they die, and they have been the cause of many blockages over the past year.
The Top Ten
1. Household waste (hair, fat, food, dirt, general build-up) - 71 per cent (46,150 callouts per year)
2. Children's toys - 9.7 per cent (6,305)
3. Food packaging - 9.7 per cent (6,305)
4. Underwear - 7.7 per cent (5,005)
5. Dead animals - 5.5 per cent (3,575)
6. Animal/Bird nests - 4.4 per cent (2,860)
7. Jewellery - 4.2 per cent (2,730)
8. Cigarette packets - per cent (2,405)
9. Bottles - 2.4 per cent (1,560)
10. Mobile phones and other gadgets - 1.1 per cent (715)