The hair-raising reason a West Midlands home kept flooding - leaving Severn Trent staff shocked

Severn Trent staff were left scratching their heads when they were called out to a West Midlands home which had reported repeated flooding.

At first teams could see no reason for a blockage which kept occurring after heavy rainfall - although they understood that there was clearly an issue at the property in Redditch.

So they got to work combing through the sewers and discovered the reason for a pipe blockage – it was clogged with SEVEN METRES of hair. The flowing locks had grown over time into a yucky, messy, mass and bunged up a part of the sewer system.

James Mitchell, a Jetting Operative for Severn Trent, was among the team called in to help clear the hair-raising mess. He said: “I have never seen anything quite like this. We do get some build up of hair occasionally in the sewers but nothing of this length – it was huge. It has obviously built up over a period of time, but the amount of hair is quite extraordinary – especially as it was all in a six inch pipe too.”

The water company is supporting a nationwide Unblocktober campaign during October to urge the public to ‘Be a Binner, Not a Blocker’ to help protect our sewers - and prevent potentially costly blockages in their own homes.

How to stop hair clogging up sewer pipes

Severn Trent staff had to deal with a staggering 34,580 blockages in the last year alone, despite their efforts helping prevent more than ten million litres of fats, oils and grease from entering the sewers.

James, who has worked as a Jetting Operative for more than seven years, said basin and shower plugs and guards can be bought cheaply to prevent hair going down into the sewers.

He added: “There are plenty of products out there to help prevent this kind of blockage. It is about changing habits and educating the public on what not to put down our sewers, things like fats, oils and greases which can solidify and cause fatbergs.”

How is Severn Trent targeting pipe blockage problems?

Severn Trent targets problem areas for blockages with information leaflets and visits from our customer liaison community teams, who offer households help and advice on preventing blockages.

Grant Mitchell, Sewer Blockages Lead at Severn Trent, said: “A lot of people don’t know that sewer pipes are only the size of your average toilet roll, so it doesn’t take much to block them. That’s why we’re big supporters of Unblocktober – we want to get the ‘Be a Binner, Not a Blocker’ message out there and help protect our customers and their homes.”

Jacob Larkin, spokesperson for Unblocktober, said: “The support of institutions such as Severn Trent is so important to help us to achieve our goal of reducing the environmental damage caused by poor drain health. We look forward to working with them both to encourage the UK public to continue to take the Unblocktober pledge, and protect our drains and waterways.”

For advice about blockages visit: Severn Trent Avoid Blockages and for more information about the Unblocktober campaign visit: Severn Trent Unblocker campaign.