Dead piranhas block British sewer

Another reason why flushing your dead fish down the loo is a bad idea. Photo / Thinkstock

Deadly piranhas were the unlikely cause of a badly backed-up English sewer, according to water company inspectors.

The carnivorous fish, whose native habitat is in the warmer waters of the South American Amazon river basin, turned up dead in a sewer in Shropshire in central England, where Severn Trent Water inspectors found them causing a significant blockage.

A company spokesman said the piranhas were among a batch of dead fish recently discovered in the Madeley area of Telford after residents complained of problems.

"It appears that a nearby resident had been disposing of dead fish, including piranhas, down the toilet and they had blocked the sewers," Severn Trent Water said in a statement.

"This is the second sewer blockage in the Shropshire area caused by odd items.

"In January, the company reported sewers in Ditton Priors near Bridgnorth were blocked by piles of pants that had been flushed down the toilet."

Severn Trent inspectors, Matt Final and Jay Slater, who were sent to investigate the Telford blockage said: "We've certainly seen some weird things in the sewers over the years but we were a little shocked to remove piranhas.

"You wouldn't think a fish of this size would fit down a toilet, but this is just one example of amazing things we find blocking the sewers."

-AAP