THOUSANDS of tons of sewer-blocking waste has been cleared from the county’s drains in the past year.

Cuddly toys, cotton wool and wipes were all pulled from Southern Water’s nine Sussex waterworks between April and November last year.

The Peacehaven wastewater treatment works saw 628 tons of waste pulled out of the drains, while a distant second was the Ford works with 188 tons. East Worthing works had 179 tons.

Paul Kent, Southern Water’s wastewater strategy manager, said: “The use of wet wipes, and things like make-up wipes, moist toilet tissue and cleaning wipes, apparently rises by 15% each year but this trend is putting a strain on our sewers – as shown by the huge amount cleared from our works.”

Bexhill and Hastings had 176 tons, Eastbourne had 167 tons, Goddards Green, near Burgess Hill, had 111 tons, Horsham works had 104 tons, Portslade had 70 tons and Newhaven works had 45 tons.

Mr Kent added: “Unlike toilet roll, these wipes don’t break down when flushed so they frequently cause blockages. They can also cause damage at our treatment works as they can get tangled up in pumps and filters.

“Even those said to be ‘flushable’ cause problems – they may flush away but they don’t bio-degrade so can still block pipes further down the line.

“The same applies to things like cotton buds, dental floss, make-up wipes and cotton wool. Flushing them causes a pain in the drain, which is why we urge people to only flush the three ps – pee, poo and paper.”

Sewer blockages can lead to flooding in the home and also to backed-up sewers overflowing from manholes.

More than 6,000 tons of blockages were cleared from Southern Water’s nework in the South East and, in England and Wales, two-thirds of all blockages are caused by inappropriate items being flushed down the loo.

For more details on Southern Water’s Pain in the Drain campaign to tackle blocked sewers, visit www.southernwater.co.uk/PainInTheDrain