Rubber duck blockage cleared in Rotherham

Yorkshire Water has reminded people to ‘bin it, don’t block it’ after a Rotherham sewer was blocked by a toy rubber duck.

Unfortunately, the toy couldn’t be recovered as it had become wedged in a small diameter pipe. It was flushed into the wider sewer network and will be removed further down the line.

Mark Hammond, head of customer field services at Yorkshire Water said: “It’s not clear how the rubber duck made it into the sewer network, but it had caused some problems for residents.

“We’re familiar with blockages caused by wet wipes or fats and greases being incorrectly disposed of down drains or toilets, but a toy rubber duck is a very unusual one for our team. The duck couldn’t be recovered so our teams will be on the lookout for it at local waste treatment works, where they’ll be able to remove it from the network.

“While unusual, the incident indicates the problems that can be caused by the incorrect disposal of items.

“It’s really important residents pay attention to our guidance around what should enter the network and should only flush the 3 Ps – pee, poo and (toilet) paper.”